EU says first virus vaccinations possible by Christmas

BRUSSELS (AP) — Vaccinations against the coronavirus could start in the 27 European Union nations by Christmas and member countries must urgently prepare their logistical chains to cope with the rollout of hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccines, according to a top EU official.

Hailing the likelihood that “there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers Wednesday that “the first European citizens might already be vaccinated before the end of December.”

The commission, the EU's executive arm, has agreements with six potential vaccine suppliers and is working on a seventh contract. The deals allow it to purchase over 1.2 billion doses, more than double the population of the bloc, which stands at around 460 million people. Some vaccines would require two doses to be effective.

On Tuesday, Brussels said it would sign a contract for up to 160 million doses of the experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna, which the company says appears to be 94.5% effective, according to its preliminary data.

But von der Leyen said that while vaccines are important, “what counts are vaccinations. ”

"Member states must get ready now. We’re talking about millions of syringes, we’re talking about cold chains, we’re talking about organizing vaccination centers, we’re talking about trained personnel that is there. You name it. All this has to be prepared,” she warned.

At Brussels Airport, Koen Gouweloose, the CEO of Swissport Cargo Services, told The Associated Press during a tour of his company’s facilities that “what we expect is that there will be a huge volume coming through.”

Vaccine doses, from companies within Europe and from outside, will be temporarily stored in a...