An agreement with pharmaceutical companies to distribute the vaccine in its updated form was achieved during the informal Health Ministers’ meeting that took place in the Czech Republic, after an intervention by the ministers of Health of Cyprus and Greece, Michalis Hadjipantela and Thanos Plevri, respectively.
An official press release said that after the intervention of the two ministers, an agreement was reached with the pharmaceutical companies so that when new vaccines are licensed and have increased effectiveness on the new COVID-19 variants, any subsequent deliveries will concern the updated vaccines. After Hadjipantelas’ proposal, any EU member states that have reduced needs in vaccines in 2023, will be able to transfer into the following year their share of vaccines.
The Cypriot Minister also informed the plenary of the council on the Republic of Cyprus’ intention to establish a WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) that will deal with infectious diseases.
The meeting was divided into several thematic blocks, which focused on the priorities of the Czech Presidency in the field of healthcare. The main topics were European assistance to the Ukrainian health system, vaccination and vaccine hesitancy, the fight against cancer and the conclusions of the Oncology Conference hosted in July by the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Regarding the repercussions of the war in the Ukraine, the Minister of Health concentrated on the preparation of a thorough and effective plan to reconstruct the Ukrainian health system. He expressed Cyprus’ readiness to offer practical support as the island is aware of the repercussions of the refugee crisis being divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island’s northern third.
Regarding Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan which was an important topic of discussion, the Cypriot Health Minister paid tribute to the significant work carried out by Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides and said Europe should be a pioneer in research and technology in the field of Health. He said an example was the innovative radiotherapy equipment currently developed in Finland.
Source: Cyprus News Agency