UK and EU Working on Vaccine Cooperation as New Variant Emerges in India

The United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) released a joint statement, expressing aim for cooperation and creating a win-win situation by expanding vaccine supply for all citizens.

“We are all facing the same pandemic and the third wave makes cooperation between the EU and UK even more important. We have been discussing what more we can do to ensure a reciprocally beneficial relationship between the UK and EU on COVID-19.”

“Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps we can take – in the short-, medium – and long term – to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens. In the end, openness and global cooperation of all countries will be key to finally overcome this pandemic and ensure better preparation for meeting future challenges. We will continue our discussions,” the statement read.

Tough trade negotiations between London and Brussels for the post-Brexit stage have sparked worries about blocking the transfer of vaccines, which could hamper efforts to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.

After threats to ban vaccine exports, the EU and the UK are working to ease the tension, as a blockade on vaccines could cause long-term harm to the British-European relations, according to the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

It is worth noting that on Thursday the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the British Parliament, will be voting on extending measures aimed at combating the pandemic for another six months.

In India, a new variant of the Coronavirus has been discovered with two mutations to the virus, leading to it being dubbed the double mutant variant of the virus.

Studies are yet to determine whether the new variant is more transmissible and how effective are the available vaccines against it.