Picture used for illustrative purpose. File

Gulf Today Report 

European Union to expedite approval of COVID-19 vaccine to curb the spread of coronavirus variants, according to the bloc’s health commissioner on Sunday.

In an interview, Stella Kyriakides, EU commissioner for health and food safety said, “we have now decided that a vaccine, which has been improved by a manufacturer based on its previous vaccine to combat new mutations, no longer has to go through the entire approvals process.”

The EU has been lagging on vaccine rollout due to several delays and controversies. 

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According to European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, mistakes have been made in procuring vaccines for all the 27 member states. And there is also lateness in approving jabs.

She also warned that scientists do not yet know if the vaccines approved so far -- those by BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford -- will remain effective against new mutations.