Luxembourg Health Minister Advocates EU's Active Pursuit of COVID-19 Vaccine

On Friday 4 September 2020, Luxembourg's Minister of Health Paulette Lenert participated in aextraordinary videoconference of European Union health ministers dedicated to the fight against COVID-19.

This exchange, organised under the German presidency, gave the EU ministers the opportunity to stress the importance of respecting the right of free movement of citizens and taking into account the specific epidemiological situation in the various Member States. The health ministers agreed to continue discussions at a technical level on a coordinated testing and quarantine policy approach, based on European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) science, which will aim to increase predictability for all European citizens and businesses.

Luxembourg's Health Minister spoke in favour of a common definition for regions where the virus is actively circulating and the development of an aligned framework for testing strategy by the Luxembourg-based Health Security Committee and the ECDC. Minister Paulette Lenert emphasised: “Our decisions should not be based solely on the rate of notification of new infections; the testing policies, the positivity rate, the death rate and the capacities of our hospital structures are equally important elements to be taken into consideration".

Like her EU counterparts, the Luxembourg minister encouraged the European Commission to actively continue negotiations with vaccine manufacturers. She stated: "Luxembourg supports any measure likely to facilitate our citizens' access to a safe and effective vaccine, without which a way out of the crisis is not possible". 

Discussions on the exact modalities of sustainable financing for the acquisition of the vaccine will continue in the coming months.