BioNTech, Pfizer apply for vaccine approval with Europe
Berlin: German pharmaceutical company BioNTech and its US partner Pfizer say they have submitted an application for conditional approval of their coronavirus vaccine with the European Medicines Agency.
The two companies said on Tuesday that the submission, which occurred Monday, completes the rolling review process they initiated with the agency on October 6.
The move comes a day after rival Moderna said it was asking US and European regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine. ‑AP
Red Cross chief calls for fight against fake vaccine news
United Nations: The head of the world’s largest humanitarian network is urging governments and institutions to combat “fake news” about COVID-19 vaccines which has become “a second pandemic” and start building trust in communities around the world about the critical importance of vaccinating people.
Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a virtual briefing to the UN Correspondents Association on Monday that “to beat this pandemic, we also have to defeat the parallel pandemic of distrust.” He said there is “a growing hesitancy about vaccines in general, and about a COVID vaccine in particular” around the world, pointing to a recent Johns Hopkins University study in 67 countries that found vaccine acceptance declined significantly in most countries from July to October this year. ‑AP
