The European Union announced Wednesday the formation of a new agency designed to improve responses to future pandemics as a measure to avoid repeating mistakes that occurred throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen pledged to donate 200 million COVID-19 doses to middle- and low-income countries by mid-2022, adding to the additional 250 million that has been promised by the end of the year.
The new agency will be called the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority and is dedicated toward making “sure that no virus will ever turn a local epidemic again into a global pandemic,” according to the New York Times.
“When I stood here in front of you a year ago, I didn’t know when and if we could have a safe and effective vaccine against the pandemic,” von der Leyen said.
EU REACHES SUMMER GOAL OF 70% OF ADULTS GETTING COVID-19 VACCINE
The commission will also invest 50 billion euros into new authority by 2027 and will invest another 1 billion euros into the development of mRNA vaccine technology in Africa, the Financial Times reported.
Criticism mounted against the commission earlier this year during the beginning of its vaccination program, which was decried by some as sluggish compared to America’s efforts with former President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed. Operation Warp Speed sought to form public-private contracts with pharmaceutical companies to deliver a vaccine in record time.
The commission signed its first deal on behalf of its member nations months after the U.S., causing delays in vaccine deliveries and inoculation campaigns. The rollout has since garnered more speed and is comparable to the vaccine distribution efforts in the U.S., Britain, and Israel.
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The EU said it reached its goal of getting 70% of adults fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the end of summer. The U.S. has fully vaccinated 54% of adults as of Tuesday, according to the Mayo Clinic.
