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Eight EU countries agree on start date of COVID-19 vaccination: Italian Health Ministry

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 15 Dec 2020

Eight EU countries agree on start date of COVID-19 vaccination: Italian Health Ministry

Rome/Sputnik: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland have agreed on a start date of a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the Italian Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The agreement was reached during a video conference of the countries' health ministers.

"We reaffirm the need to coordinate our efforts for safe, efficient and transparent use of the vaccine. During our meeting, we have defined some important aspects of the vaccination campaign that should be coordinated by the member countries, particularly at a trans-border level," the communique, published by the ministry, read.

According to the document, the participants of the conference have assumed the responsibility "to promote coordination of the vaccination campaign's start" and rapidly exchange the experience and information about their progress, particularly regarding pharmacovigilance and the awareness of border areas' residents.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 15,083,443 COVID-19 cases were registered in the EU/EEA and the UK as of December 14, with 375,147 deaths.