As part of the on-going work to build a strong European Health Union, the Council has adopted the Regulation revising the mandate of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), taking an important step towards EMA’s reinforcement in crisis preparedness and management for medicinal products and medical devices. The new rules will allow the Agency to closely […]
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Efficient tracing of Omicron with new PCR test
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has developed a new detection method specific for the Omicron variant. The method has been successfully validated in silico, based on bioinformatics. The JRC now invites control laboratories worldwide to validate it in vivo on clinical samples. Following the recent emergence of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, Omicron, […]
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EU and US officials discuss efforts to donate and deliver 1.7 billion vaccine doses around the world
Senior European Commission officials met last week with senior White House and other U.S. government officials on progress and next steps towards achieving the US-EU Agenda for Beating the Global Pandemic Vaccinating the World, Saving Lives Now, and Building Back Better Health Security. Led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s Head of Cabinet […]
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EU continues strong support to promote sustainable agri-food products in 2022
For 2022, a total of €185.9 million was allocated to the promotion of EU agri-food products in and outside the EU. Similarly to 2021, next year’s promotion policy work programme focuses on products and agricultural practices that support the European Green Deal objectives, such as EU organic products, fruit and vegetables, sustainable agriculture and animal welfare. Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said: “The […]
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Vaccination evolution and hospitalizations in Europe – November
This news item shows the evolution of vaccination against COVID-19 in Europe during November. The data for this article were obtained from Our World in Data. During the month of November a total of 25,442,274 citizens received the full course of COVID-19, which meant that by the end of this month a total of 505,749,276 […]
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EU-UK relations: Commission guarantees continued supply of medicines to Northern Ireland
The Commission has put forward proposals to ensure the continued long-term supply of medicines from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and to address outstanding supply concerns in Cyprus, Ireland and Malta. In the context of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, this means that the same medicines will continue to be available in Northern Ireland at […]
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COVID-19 Evolution in Europe during November
This news item shows the evolution of the COVID-19 virus in Europe during November. The data for this article have been obtained from several official sources (Johns Hopkins University, Reuters, WHO…), concerning the incidence of diagnosed cases and deaths due to the COVID-19 virus. In November, Europe ended with a total of 87,859,651 diagnosed […]
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Safe travel coordination strengthened in the EU
The European Commission has proposed to update the rules on coordination of safe and free movement in the EU, which were put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the summer, vaccine uptake has increased significantly and the EU Digital COVID Certificate has been rolled out successfully, with more than 650 million certificates […]
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Microscopic 3D-printed sensors to detect hazardous gases and vapours
EU-backed scientists have successfully printed in 3D tiny gas sensors that mimic colour change mechanisms seen on peacocks. The sensors respond optically to traces of gas in homes, work settings and cars. Certain types of sensors detect and identify different types of hazardous pollutants, such as toxic or explosive gases. Some also measure gas concentration. […]
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