The Commission is extending its new joint purchasing mechanism, Hera, created in September 2021. Some countries, such as France or the Netherlands, do not use it.
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“It will be a considerable asset to cope earlier and better for future health threats,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on September 15, 2021. The next day, the European Preparation Authority and reaction in the event of a health emergency (HERA) was born and a pillar of “Europe of health”, which appeared as a necessity in the context of the Pandemic of Covid-19, was posed. Operational since the beginning of 2022, this new agency, created within the Commission and endowed with a budget of 6 billion euros for five years, is already called to prove itself, while the variole of the monkey spreads on the old continent.
modeled on the American Barda (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development) Barda model, whose effectiveness against COVVI-19 had been envied by the twenty-seven, Hera must anticipate the health crises and allow European level to guard against it. It is a question of perpetuating the reflexes adopted on the TAS to face together the coronavirus, make common vaccine purchases and share them fairly. This solidarity exercise has been proud of the European Union (EU), having made it possible to deliver 1.7 billion doses to European citizens, not without difficulties, in particular due to the extent of the crisis and the habit of member states to manage health exclusively nationwide.
Since June, Hera has therefore concluded two contracts to buy around 160,000 doses of the third generation vaccine against the variole of the monkey, named Jynneos, to the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, the only one to manufacture. In the case of anti-Cavid-19 vaccines, if the commission was responsible for negotiating contracts, the invoice was regulated by the twenty-seven. This time, the European executive financed the purchase of doses thanks to the community budget, more precisely through the EU4HEALTH program, and has given it to the 26 European countries (24 Member States, to which are added Iceland and Norway) who expressed the wish. This first “demonstrates the rapid and collective response that a European Health Union can provide,” said Stella Kyriakides , health commissioner, June 14.
” Limited manufacturing capacity “
More than 60,000 doses have already reached several member states, starting with Spain which, in June, was the country most affected by the epidemic. The rest of the 160,000 doses should be delivered over the days and weeks to come. If Hera prides itself on a first success, these figures may seem derisory to protect 450 million Europeans. “It is important to understand the market conditions surrounding this purchase,” defends a source from the committee. “This vaccine is the only one available on the market. It is produced by a single company, with a limited manufacturing capacity and pre -existing contractual obligations.”
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