THE HAGUE: Europe's drug regulator on Wednesday refrained from making any recommendations on mixing shots of Covid-19 vaccines from different drugmakers and said it was too early to confirm if and when an additional booster dose would be needed.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), however, did say both doses of a coronavirus vaccine are needed to protect against the fast-spreading Delta variant.
"Adherence to the recommended vaccination course, in line with the product information, is vital to benefit from the highest level of protection against the virus," EMA said in a statement.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has estimated that the Delta variant will account for 90 per cent of strains in circulation in the European Union by the end of August.
The variant, first identified in India, has led to a surge in cases worldwide and is hurting recovery plans. Researchers and drugmakers are having to tweak vaccines quickly to prevent them from losing effectiveness against new, emerging variants.
The World Health Organization said on Wednesday the Delta variant has been detected in at least 111 countries in the last two months, and was likely to become the dominant variant globally over the coming months.
"Adherence to the recommended vaccination course is vital to benefit from the highest level of protection."
Calling it a "variant of concern", the Delta strain "is spreading fast in Europe and may seriously hamper efforts to control the pandemic," the EMA said.
"This makes it essential for countries to speed up vaccination programmes, including delivery of second doses where recommended and to close the gaps and opportunities for further emergence of variants as soon as possible," the EMA said. - Agencies
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