Moncef Slaoui, chief advisor of Operation Warp Speed under the Trump administration, has submitted his resignation at the request of the Biden team, two sources tell CNBC s Meg Tirrell.
Slaoui will stay 30 days through the transition, though his role will be significantly diminished on Jan. 20, when President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated.
Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Dr Moncef Slaoui has submitted his resignation at the request of the Biden team, per two sources. He’ll stay 30 days, through the transition, though his role will be significantly diminished come Jan. 20. Meg Tirrell (@megtirrell) January 13, 2021
The Trump administration on Tuesday issued new guidelines that expand coronavirus vaccine eligibility to everyone age 65 and older as well as to those with comorbid conditions, like diabetes.
From Ireland’s point of view, there are favourable developments this week.
Oxford-AstraZeneca applied to the European Medicines Agency for approval and a decision is due on January 29.
The hope is there will be a generous series of shipments of some of the 3.3 million doses ordered of the easy-to-use jab. It is given in two doses but can be stored at regular temperatures, making it easy for GPs and pharmacists to administer.
Johnson and Johnson also indicated its vaccine is near the end of its trials, which could mean an application in February. It is delivered in one dose.
Ireland is lucky that Pfizer-BioNTech has been so efficient and reliable, allowing the roll-out of the vaccine to be jumpstarted with 40,000 doses a week until the end of February.
The EU has secured 2bn doses of seven different vaccines to cover over 440m EU citizens and is in the process of securing doses of another vaccine as of Tuesday.
However, the lack of information about how many doses of each vaccine will be available and when is creating tensions among member states. Right now there is a kind of battle between countries to know how many doses have been received. That information should be made public, argued MEP Michele Rivasi, (Greens/EFA, France).
MEPs also questioned the Director-General for Health about how many doses could come from the Pfizer-BioNtech vials.
Lack of transparency has recently fuelled uncertainty and disinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccination in Europe, say MEPs.
On Tuesday, members of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety quizzed Sandra Gallina, the EU’s lead negotiator on COVID-19 vaccine contracts, on the latest developments regarding contracts, transparency, authorisations, availability and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines.
MEPs underlined the need for more clarity and transparency regarding vaccine contracts, as well as the decision-making process at EU level. They welcomed the European Commission’s openness to share available information whilst also acknowledging that some questions can be better answered by member states and pharmaceutical companies.
| UPDATED: 19:36, Wed, Jan 13, 2021
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The European Commission was forced on Tuesday to defuse tensions between member states as they argued over the number of Covid vaccine doses received so far. French MEP Michele Rivasi said the European Union is facing an internal battle over the distribution of vaccines. She blasted: Right now there is a kind of battle between countries to see how many doses have been received.