the european medicines agency

Oliver Varhelyi, the Hungarian nominee for European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, has been sent back for a second round of questioning after MEPs expressed dissatisfaction with his responses. The hearing, which took place in Brussels, involved Varhelyi addressing the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as well as Agriculture and Rural Development committees.

The European Commission has granted approval for the Nuvaxovid XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine, a groundbreaking step in the fight against the ever-evolving pandemic. Developed by Novavax, this marks the first protein-based vaccine tailored to address the unique challenges posed by the autumn-winter season.

EU regulators have recommended authorizing an updated Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech which targets the dominant XBB.1.5 variant of Omicron, putting it on track to become the third adapted shot  by the two companies to be approved in the bloc.

"From now on, there is talk of a one-time, annual vaccination against COVID-19, similar to the seasonal flu vaccine", said on bTV Prof. Ilko Getov, our country's representative in the European Medicines Agency.

Under the new rules, only travelers who have received three doses of the coronavirus vaccine can enter the country without additional documents.
According to the new Regulation on the COVID-19 regime for entry into Austria, the list of high-risk countries no longer applies.

From 1 February 2022, all European green certificates for completed vaccination course will be valid for 270 days from the date of the last dose. The change is due to the decision (EU) 2021/2301 of the European Commission of 21 December 2021, which specifies the validity of certificates and introduces uniform rules for EU countries.

The Commission for Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EDA) has recommended that the use of the Comirnaty vaccine by Biontech / Pfizer against COVID-19 be given to children aged 5 to 11 years.

The vaccine is already used on children that are 12 years old.

On Friday, the EU medicines supervisor said countries could use Merck's covid pill in emergencies caused by the growing number of cases before treatment is officially approved across the bloc.

The completed vaccination course, with any of the EU-approved vaccines, provides a high level of protection against the severe course of the disease and death caused by SARS-CoV-2, including infection with the Delta variant of the virus. This was announced by the Bulgarian Ministry of Health.

Ljubljana – Slovenia will follow the recommendation of the national advisory committee on immunisation to use the Pfizer vaccine for those under 30 years old, Health Minister Janez Poklukar said on Monday. In general, the use of mRNA vaccines will be recommended over viral vector vaccines.