The Diplomat
The Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, expressed yesterday her hope that the Spanish vaccine against COVID-19 HIPRA will be authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its incorporation in the campaign of the second booster dose, which starts next September 26th.
This was announced by the Minister in Tel Aviv during her participation in the 72nd Meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Europe, where she met with the Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and with her counterparts from Israel, Nitzan Horowitz; Austria, Johannes Rauch; and Norway, Ingvild Kjerkol.
During their meeting, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the Minister of Health analyzed the current situation of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the incidence of monkeypox both at regional and global level and Carolina Darias informed that the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain is currently below 3% in terms of hospitalization and occupation of ICU beds.
In this line, both defended the need to continue with vaccination as the “most powerful weapon” against COVID-19 and the WHO Director General showed his interest in the Spanish HIPRA vaccine. In this respect, Darias transmitted him the “maximum hopes” of the Spanish Government to incorporate it to the vaccine portfolio of the second booster dose campaign, which starts next September 26th, once it has the pertinent authorization of the EMA.
HIPRA, the first 100% Spanish and 100% European vaccine, is currently undergoing continuous review by the EMA, the step prior to marketing authorization. The Amer (Girona) multinational pharmaceutical company HIPRA has recently proceeded with a clinical trial to study its vaccine against COVID-19 as a fourth dose. The European Commission reported in early August the signing of a joint procurement contract with the Spanish pharmaceutical company Hipra Human Health to secure the supply of 250 million doses of its protein vaccine against the coronavirus. A total of 14 Member States will participate in this joint purchase, the value of which has not been reported by Brussels.
The Spanish Ambassador to Israel, Ana María Salomón Pérez, and the Secretary General for Digital Health, Information and Innovation of the SNS, Juan Fernando Muñoz Montalvo, also took part in the meeting.
