EU launches advanced Covid-19 vaccine research programme to fight variants

Recent mutations of the virus that reduce vaccine efficacy have prompted new research

A lab technician analyses swab samples for possible coronavirus infection at the Chemical and Veterinary Analysis Office of East Westphalia-Lippe in Detmold, Germany, on on May 15, 2020. Getty 

The EU will launch a programme to study coronavirus and produce second-generation vaccines against future variants of the virus that causes Covid-19, the European Commission’s president said.

The Hera incubator programme, which starts on Wednesday, will bring together the pharmaceutical industry, laboratories, health authorities and researchers, Ursula von der Leyen told French daily newspaper Les Echos on Tuesday.

“The virus has evolved and will continue to evolve,” said a representative for the bloc, which has been criticised for its slowness to start vaccinations.

“It is important we prepare for mutations.”

Member states will also be asked to contribute additional funds so the EU can adapt and modify contracts already signed with vaccine providers and secure doses against future variants, Bloomberg reported.

With delays to deliveries of three authorised vaccines by Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer and BioNTech, the EU’s medicines regulator is under pressure from European capitals to put more to use.

US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is the latest to apply for authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine in the EU with a decision possible by the middle of March, the bloc’s drugs regulator said on Tuesday.