Pressure mounts on EU drug regulator to approve Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

Europe's drug regulator is under increasing pressure to quickly approve the Covid-19 vaccine developed by US giant Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, officials said, as inoculations get started in Britain and the United States.

The push underscores the frictions between regulators and governments wishing to curb the pandemic that has killed more than 1.6 million people worldwide.

Four EU sources told Reuters that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has been under pressure from the European Commission and EU governments to approve vaccines more quickly.

One EMA official said on Monday pressure had increased on the agency from EU governments "through usual channels of communications" after Dec. 2, when the British regulator granted an emergency authorisation to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

A second source familiar with EMA's work confirmed pressure has...

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