Powerful warning in connection with the reporting of COVID-19 vaccination side-effects and the importance attached to the vaccination strategy relative to support for therapeutics
25.2.2022
Question for written answer E-000811/2022
to the Commission
Rule 138
Christine Anderson (ID)
A German health insurance fund has contacted the Paul Ehrlich Institute after data suggested that there is very significant under-reporting of suspected cases of COVID-19 vaccination side-effects[1]. The health insurance fund suspects that, in many instances, physicians fail to notify vaccine adverse events because no payment is made for reporting vaccine side-effects and the reporting process is very involved. Physicians have told the health insurance fund that reporting a suspected vaccine adverse event takes about half an hour. It can therefore be assumed that there are probably about three million suspected cases of vaccine side-effects.
In addition, the Commission has launched an EU Strategy on COVID‐19 Therapeutics[2] and, to date, has authorised seven COVID‐19 therapeutics and concluded three joint procurement contracts for the purchase of COVID-19 therapeutics. Support amounts to EUR 5 million (EU4Health), EUR 90 million (emergency work programme for health and infrastructures) and also covers research projects with a total value of EUR 119 million[3].
In terms of scale, this is in no way comparable with the billions in orders that the Commission is investing in its vaccination strategy.
- 1.With regard to the authorisation of vaccines and subsequent vaccination strategy, how does the Commission view the feedback from the health insurance fund referred to?
- 2.Why is the Commission disadvantaging research into effective therapeutics over vaccines, especially in the light of the numerous cases of vaccine failure?
- [1] https://bkk-provita.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Paul-Ehrlich-Institut-Presseinformation-Impfnebenwirkungen-nach-Corona-Impfung-1.pdf
- [2] https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/communication-strategy-covid-19-therapeutics_en.pdf
- [3] https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/communication-strategy-covid-19-therapeutics_en.pdf