Corona-Fokusmeldungen von September bis Dezember 2021

	21 December 2021 – Commission adopts binding acceptance period of 9 months for vaccination certificates The Commission has adopted a binding acceptance period of 9 months or precisely 270 days for vaccination certificates for the purpose of intra-EU travel. The Commission has also adapted the rules for encoding vaccination certificates and recording booster doses according to the primary vaccination series. A clear and uniform acceptance period for vaccination certificates will guarantee that travel measures continue to be coordinated, and the new rules ensure that restrictions are based on the best available scientific evidence.
	20 December 2021 – Council reaches political agreement on the European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority during public health emergencies The Council has reached a political agreement on the Regulation allowing for the activation of urgent and targeted medical countermeasures by the European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) during public health emergencies in the EU. The measures include the procurement and purchase of crisis-relevant medical countermeasures and materials, the activation of reserved industrial facilities for flexible manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics, the establishment of a Health Crisis Board with Member States and the creation of rapid monitoring mechanisms.
	20 December 2021 – Commission authorises fifth safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine The Commission has granted a conditional marketing authorisation for the Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine developed by Novavax, the fifth vaccine authorised in the EU. Novavax will be able to deliver up to 100 million vaccine doses starting in the first quarter of 2022. This authorisation follows a positive scientific recommendation based on a thorough assessment of the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency and is endorsed by Member States.
	19 December 2021 – European Commission continues accelerating vaccine deliveries to Member States The Commission and BioNtech-Pfizer have agreed to accelerate the delivery of an additional 20 million vaccine doses in the first quarter of 2022. This comes on top of the scheduled 195 million doses, bringing the total delivery numbers to 215 million vaccine doses. Under the third contract with BioNtech-Pfizer, the Commission and Member States have also activated a first option to order over 200 million doses more, bringing the BioNtech-Pfizer deliveries to 650 million doses in 2022. Full vaccination and the rollout of booster vaccine doses remain one of the EU’s top health priorities.
	1 December 2021 – Commission reiterates calls to step up vaccination, deploy boosters, react to the Omicron variant The Commission has put forward a Communication for a common and coordinated EU approach to effectively address the challenges resurging from COVID-19 in light of rapidly rising case numbers and the potential threat of the Omicron variant. President von der Leyen said: “Today we are presenting a broad array of actions, from stepping up our vaccination efforts and investment in treatments, to improving monitoring and prevention, and reinforcing our global solidarity. In the meantime I reiterate my urgent call to all of you: get vaccinated, get a booster, and follow the rules to protect yourselves."
	25 November 2021 – The European Commission proposes to strengthen coordination of safe travel in the EU The Commission has proposed to update the rules on coordination of safe and free movement in the EU in response to the pandemic. This includes a stronger focus on a ‘person-based' approach to travel measures and a standard acceptance period for vaccination certificates of 9 months since the primary vaccination series. The Commission is also proposing updates to the EU traffic light map, as well as a simplified ‘emergency brake' procedure. To allow sufficient time for the coordinated approach to be implemented, the Commission proposes that these updates apply as of 10 January 2022.
	10 November 2021 – The European Commission approves contract with Valneva to secure a new potential vaccine The Commission has approved a contract with Valneva, providing for the possibility for all EU Member States to purchase around 27 million doses in 2022, once the vaccine is proven safe and effective. The contract also includes the possibility to adapt the vaccine to new variant strains, and for Member States to make a further order of up to 33 million additional vaccines in 2023. The contract with Valneva comes in addition to an already secured broad portfolio of vaccines to be produced in Europe, including the contracts already signed with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, BioNtech-Pfizer, CureVac, Moderna, and Novavax.
	22 October 2021 – The European Commission establishes portfolio of 10 most promising treatments for COVID-19 The Commission has established a portfolio of 10 potential COVID-19 therapeutics based on independent scientific advice. These therapeutics will bring treatment to patients across the EU as fast as possible provided that their safety and effectiveness has been confirmed by the European Medicines Agency. The list focuses on COVID-19 treatment candidates that are likely to be authorised and therefore available on the European market soon. Meanwhile, vaccination against COVID-19 offers the best preventive protection against infection, severe disease, loss of life and long-term consequences of illness.
	19 October 2021 – The European Commission relaunches the review of EU economic governance The European Commission adopted a Communication that takes stock of the changed circumstances for economic governance in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis and relaunches the public debate on the review of the EU’s economic governance framework. With this Communication, the Commission invites all stakeholders to reflect on the functioning of the economic governance and to present their views on how to enhance its effectiveness. The aim of the public debate is to build a broad-based consensus on the way forward well in time for 2023. The Commission will consider all views expressed during this public debate.
	18 October 2021 - EU has set a global standard with over 591 million EU Digital COVID Certificates generated so far The Commission adopted a report on how the EU Digital COVID Certificate is being implemented across the EU, showing that the EU certificate is a crucial element in Europe’s response to the pandemic with more than 591 million certificates generated to facilitate safe travel. The EU Digital COVID Certificate system is also a success worldwide, as it has set a standard and is currently the only system operational globally. In addition to the 27 EU Member States, 16 non-EU jurisdictions are linked to the system, and more will follow.
	11 October 2021 – The Commission proposes additional funding to support global vaccination The European Commission has proposed to amend the EU Budget 2021. It will provide an additional €450 million to reach the €1.3 billion which are needed to secure an additional 200 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 for low and middle-income countries through COVAX, as announced by President von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech.
	22 September 2022 - Report confirms SURE’s success in protecting jobs and incomes The Commission has published its second report on the impact of the instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE). National labour market measures supported by SURE are likely to have reduced unemployment by almost 1.5 million people in 2020. SURE has helped to ensure that the increase in unemployment in the beneficiary Member States during the crisis has been significantly smaller than during the global financial crisis, despite them experiencing a larger decrease in GDP. A total of €94.3 billion of financial assistance has so far been provided to 19 Member States. SURE can still provide almost €6 billion of financial assistance to Member States.
	16 September 2021 - European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA): preparing for future health emergencies The European Commission launches a European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to health emergencies. HERA will help anticipating threats and potential health crises, through intelligence gathering and building the necessary response capacities. When an emergency hits, HERA will ensure the development, production and distribution of medicines, vaccines and other medical countermeasures – such as gloves and masks – that were often lacking during the first phase of the coronavirus response. HERA will work both before and during health crises. HERA is a key pillar of the European Health Union announced by President von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union address.