The European Union launches a comprehensive vaccination program

The European Union launched the first phase of its mass vaccination program on Sunday, in which doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine were delivered to all 27 member states.

The commercial bloc faces a huge logistical challenge as vaccines are rolled out in the form of The new alternative to Covid-19 It spreads across multiple countries.

“Today we start turning the page in a difficult year,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday on Twitter.

“The [Covid-19] The vaccine has been delivered to all European Union countries, “adding that the launch of the vaccine will start on Sunday.

It was a Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine Authorized by the European Union on December 21stAmidst escalating winter cases.

The vaccine is It consists of two doses, It needs to be stored at very low temperatures.

Some European Union countries began vaccinating them early in the day, with doses in Slovakia and Germany on Saturday.

On Sunday, vaccinations began in Italy, Spain and France, with a focus on frontline healthcare workers, nursing home residents and the elderly.

In Spain, the first person to get a dose of the vaccine was a 96-year-old in a nursing home. The second was working in the same house.

Italy received 9,750 doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. The first five people who got it on Sunday were frontline medical and research workers.

“We have worked in a unit throughout this epidemic. Today we start turning the page on this chapter, together.” The European Commission said on Twitter.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) continues its rolling review of other promising candidate vaccines, including those from AstraZeneca, the University of Oxford and Johnson & Johnson.