The European Medicines Agency said on Tuesday it had moved forward a meeting to decide on authorisation for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 by more than a week to December 21.

The announcement of a change to the previous date of December 29 came after mounting pressure on the regulator from European countries desperate for a vaccine.

Health Minister Chris Fearne told parliament on Tuesday that Malta was among the countries which had urged the EMA to move the approval process forward, without sacrificing any safeguards. 

Malta has secured 500,000 jabs of the Pfizer vaccine.

Fearne said the European Commission is expected to approve the vaccine procurement within a couple of days of its approval by the EMA. Deliveries to several EU countries including Malta will then start within days.

"This means the first vaccinations in Malta could take place before the end of the year," Fearne said.

He said the necessary arrangements had been made for the vaccine to be transported to Malta and stored at the required temperature. As an added assurance, it had been decided that the reconstitution process normally done by nurses or doctors would be done centrally.

Malta has also ordered vaccines from Moderna and Astrazeneca.

Doses will be available free for everyone, and people who have already suffered COVID-19 would also be expected to take the vaccine, he said.

He stressed that people should not let their guard down but continue to wear masks and take the necessary precautions, including avoiding meetings in large groups. 

Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci told Times of Malta the vaccine "could arrive a few days earlier than expected" but that it was too early to say. 

The Amsterdam-based EMA said on Monday it had received "additional data" from the company on Monday that was requested by the EMA committee that examines medicines for human use.

"An exceptional meeting of the (committee) has now been scheduled for 21 December to conclude if possible," the EMA said in a statement.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the announcement, saying it meant vaccinations would likely start before the end of the year.

Germany had earlier piled pressure on the EMA, saying it wanted it to approve the vaccine "before Christmas".

"The goal is to get approval before Christmas," German Health Minister Jens Spahn told a press conference in Berlin. "We want to start vaccinating in Germany before the end of the year." 

  

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