Madrid Desk, Jan 6 (EFE).- The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the use of the US Moderna vaccine in the EU on Wednesday, a welcome boost for Germany and France who have faced criticism for the pace of their respective vaccine rollouts.

The British prime minister, meanwhile, warned that stricter lockdown measures applied across the country this week could stay in place until the end of March.

VACCINE

The EMA on Wednesday approved the use of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by US Moderna for people over age 18.

It is the second vaccine to be approved for use in the EU after the one developed by Pfizer/BioNTech.

This endorsement is the first step before the European Commission approves the Conditional Marketing Authorisation (CMA) for Moderna, making its vaccine the second to be used in Europe after the Pfizer/BioNtech drug was authorised on 21 December.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that as European scientists have deemed Moderna's vaccine to be safe and effective, Brussels is working at full speed to approve it and make it available for rollout across the EU.

This vaccine is administered in two injections in the arm, 28 days apart, and the most common side effects detected were generally mild or moderate, and improved a few days after vaccination.

GERMANY

German Health Minister, Jens Spahn, said that there would be enough doses of the coronavirus vaccine to protect the entire population, and asked for patience amid what critics have called a slow start to the rollout.

The pace of Germany's vaccination campaign -- well ahead of other EU countries like the Netherlands and France -- that began on 27 December has drawn criticism, with Spahn citing production capacity issues as the reason for the delay.

Now that Moderna's vaccine has also been authorised by EU health authorities, Germany will have 130 million doses available.

So far, 400,000 people have been vaccinated, mostly in nursing homes.

Anja Karliczek, head of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, has defended the decision to extend school closures until at least the end of the month, amid criticism from paediatric experts and teachers who have warned of the growing educational gap.

Schools in Germany have been closed since 16 December.

In a statement to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, Thomas Fischbach, President of the Association of Pediatricians and Youth Medicine, criticized the extension of the closure of schools and nurseries.

He warned that the inequality between children from educated households and children who cannot count on parental support or who come from difficult socio-economic backgrounds would only be exacerbated by longer closures.

FRANCE

The French government announced that it will open hundreds of vaccination centres to increase the rate of inoculations against Covid-19.

The first 100 centres will be operational this week, with the government's spokesman, Gabriel Attal, stating that 300 more vaccination centres will open next week. A further 500 are set to open the week after that.

The announcement comes amid widespread criticism of the government for the slow pace of its vaccination scheme: just 7,000 people have been vaccinated, 5,000 of whom received their injection on Tuesday.

In total, 0.01 percent of the French population has been vaccinated since the start of the rollout on December 27.

Attal said one million doses from Pfizer were due to arrive Wednesday night.

French authorities are first focusing on vaccinating vulnerable people living in residential homes and health workers.

UK

British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, warned Wednesday that strict coronavirus restrictions may stay in force until the end of March given the high rate of infections.

In an appearance before the House of Commons, the Conservative leader said he had no choice but to tighten measures - which include stay at home orders and school closures, amid the arrival of a new coronavirus strain.

On Tuesday the UK registered a record daily infection rate of 60,916.

The UK is now in a race between the spread of the disease and vaccines rollouts to those most vulnerable.

With the introduction last Monday of the vaccine developed by Oxford University and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which joins Pfizer/BioNTech, 1.3 million people have now been vaccinated in the UK. EFE

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