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During the July plenary session, the European Parliament is expected to discuss the final report of its Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic, and vote on a series of recommendations to improve EU preparedness for future health emergencies.

This study was drawn up to support the work of the European Parliament's Special Committee on the COVID 19 pandemic. It examines the European Union's public health response to the COVID 19 pandemic across the following five pillars: (1) the EU vaccines strategy and national vaccination strategies; (2) independent scientific evidence on vaccine effectiveness; (3) the EU public health response to COVID 19, addressing the EU framework for crisis response; (4) the EU's prevention and preparedness efforts ...

From the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, and up to mid-April 2020, EU Member States were facing an extraordinary situation that led to the declaration of a health emergency. EU governments gradually took urgent measures to contain the spread of the virus, such as re introduction of border controls in the Schengen area, implementation of temporary travel restrictions, and introduction of sanitary measures. These had vast impact on both mobility and migration. Multiple measures also ...

In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, 'nobody is safe until everybody is safe'. On this basis, the EU, along with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other public and private partners, set up a global initiative to facilitate the development, production and global distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. COVAX was initially designed to pool funds and vaccine doses in order to ensure an equitable distribution between all participating economies until all of them – higher- and lower-income alike – reached ...

The authorisation of the first Covid-19 vaccines by the European Commission in December 2020 dovetailed with EU Member States' efforts to roll out mass vaccination campaigns to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Amid rising numbers of Covid-19 cases and fears surrounding what might be the impact of the Omicron variant, those efforts were renewed at the end of 2021, including the roll-out of booster doses and vaccines for children. However, despite progress in some Member States, as of March 2022 ...

Just before summer 2021, the EU adopted in record time (see timeline below) two regulations on the EU Digital Covid Certificate (EUDCC). The certificate with a QR code shows if a person has been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from Covid-19. It is free of charge, available on paper or on a smartphone, and valid in all EU Member States. The two regulations apply from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. Currently, 35 non-EU countries have signed a bilateral agreement with the EU, to accept each other ...

Epidemiological studies of Covid-19 have, in most cases, provided inconclusive results to date regarding the role of air pollution in the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the geographical spread of the disease, both regionally and globally. The present review analysed just under 6 000 articles published up to 31 May 2021, looking at the role of pollution and air quality factors in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and in the geographical differences in Covid-19 propagation. A body of evidence ...

This study examines the zoonotic disease risks posed by the livestock sector (including fur production), reviews the risks posed by different livestock species and production systems, and examines case studies of past zoonotic disease epidemics. Building on this evidence, it reviews EU zoonosis surveillance and control arrangements. It recommends improvements including integration of human and animal disease surveillance services, expanded use of syndromic surveillance and changes to the funding ...

The proliferation of new and emerging technologies over the past two decades has significantly expanded states’ toolkit for repression and social control, deepening human rights problems. While these technologies still have the potential to positively enhance democratic values and human rights, they are now also actively deployed and shaped by many repressive regimes to their own strategic advantage. Globally and regionally, efforts have been made to tackle the challenges that digital technologies ...

Due to the worsening epidemiological situation, EU leaders met on 25 March 2021 in a series of video-conferences instead of a two-day physical meeting. The top priority was the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, notably through increasing production, delivery and deployment of vaccines. Another highlight of the European Council meeting was the exchange of views with the President of the United States, Joe Biden – the first such meeting for 11 years – which focused on the coronavirus pandemic ...