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Hello Over the weekend, Commissioner-designate for Health, Olivér Várhelyi, will have some additional homework to do. The MEPs were not amused by his quip that being married and having three daughters qualified him to be “an ally of women”. They also “deeply regret” that he didn’t apologise on his own initiative for the “idiots” comment he made in plenary, saying that it cast in to doubt his respect for the Parliament and its members. Today’s news
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🟡 Commissioner-designate hearings |
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While awaiting Várhelyi’s responses, MEPs negotiate his portfolio |
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Political games continue around the scope of the health portfolio, but sources tell Euractiv Várhelyi’s eventual confirmation is likely.
After failing to reassure left-wing groups and some centrists during his hearing, Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi will have to respond to written questions from MEPs by Monday in a bid to convince them to appoint him as the European Commissioner for Health.
Meanwhile, the day after Várhelyi’s hearing, the Renew Europe, EPP, and S&D political coordinators resumed negotiations on the issue, with the Greens/EFA also involved, to potentially reduce the scope of the commissioner’s portfolio.
“We need to ensure that vaccines and reproductive rights aren’t within the remit of the European commissioner. That’s the crux. The aim is to limit Fidesz’s reach so that no dangerous competencies lie in his hands,” a Renew Europe official summarised for Euractiv.
“Further guarantees and clarifications are being requested via questions requiring written responses. After that, we’ll see if he is confirmed, with the same portfolio or not, based on the decision of all coordinators next Monday,” explained French MEP Laurent Castillo (EPP) to Euractiv. He also considers that Várhelyi has lived up to the EPP's expectations.
“This sends a message to Ursula von der Leyen. She knows it’s a concern. Orbán has no interest in withdrawing Várhelyi, but reducing the portfolio could be an interesting negotiation point,” a source from the S&D told Euractiv. Read the full story here. Back to the top |
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Additional questions for Várhelyi |
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As mentioned in the introduction the MEPs have strong misgivings about Olivér Várhelyi largely stemming from his loyalty to his political master Viktor Orban.
Women’s reproductive health: The first additional question is on what actions he will take to promote women’s rights. At his hearing, Várhelyi rebuffed questions on abortion and reproductive health saying that these matters were for member states. However, MEPs want a commitment that he will improve and update the cross-border healthcare directive to ensure that women can access reproductive healthcare safely and confidentially in another EU country.
Vaccines: In the second question, they ask Várhelyi what he would do to promote the uptake of EMA-approved vaccines and tackle related disinformation and misinformation in all countries, “including your own?”
The pointed reference to “EMA-approved” vaccines is because of the Hungarian government’s decision to authorise Sputnik V and Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines that didn’t meet the evidence threshold for EMA authorisation during the pandemic.
AMR: The third question concerns antimicrobial resistance targets. The Parliament shares its view that simple monitoring of progress until 2027 will not be sufficient and wants to know if he will consider legislative actions before 2027.
Nutrition: The MEPs fourth question concerns food labelling and traceability, including a question on whether the Commissioner-designate is committed to “front-of-pack nutrition labelling to promote healthy choices?”
In all likelihood, Várhelyi will reach the simple majority of MEPs needed for approval. Back to the top |
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Doctors react to prospective Health Commissioner’s hearing |
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After Várhelyi’s hearing last night (6 October), reactions from MEPs were mixed. From the workforce side, doctors from the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) expressed concern over the lack of mention of how to “tackle the ongoing and deepening health workforce crisis.”
“When asked about health workforce shortages in Central Europe by MEP András Kulja, we are disappointed that he provided no response,” said the CPME.
They added that they appreciated that medical education and technology advancement was mentioned during the hearing, but said it “must be integrated into a coherent strategy.” [EP] Back to the top |
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ECDC has revamped its learning portal |
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The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has created a new ‘Learning Portal’ to replace its ‘ECDC Virtual Academy’.
The courses are aimed at professionals working in infectious diseases and public health areas such as epidemiology, microbiology, bioinformatics, prevention, preparedness and response.
Trainers can reuse or adapt the materials to develop their own training courses. All materials are free of charge. Back to the top |
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Second round of polio campaign completed in Gaza |
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The second round of the routine polio vaccination campaign in Gaza was completed yesterday, with an overall 556,774 children under the age of 10 being vaccinated with a second dose of polio vaccine. Additionally, 448,425 children between two and 10-years-old received vitamin A. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that coverage in northern Gaza, however, has been limited due to ongoing bombardments and forced displacement. Here, vaccination coverage rates reached 88 percent whereas 90 percent is needed to provide slow the spread of the viruso. [EP] Back to the top |
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Nine countries receive mpox vaccines through new access mechanism |
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The Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) for mpox has distributed 899,000 vaccine doses for 9 countries across the African region that are particularly hard hit by the current mpox surge.
The nine countries are the Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda. The largest share of doses – around 85 percent – going to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is most affected.
Over 5.85 million vaccine doses are expected to be available to the Mpox Vaccines AAM by the end of 2024, including the nearly 900 000 allocated doses.
These doses come from Canada, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain, as well as HERA), and the US. [EP] Back to the top |
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Slovak telemedicine roll-out driving healthcare efficiency |
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Slovakia - Slovakia is amending its legislation to integrate telemedicine into the country's healthcare system. It will now be possible to provide advice without an in-person visit, allowing patients to receive medical assistance remotely.
"Telemedicine in Slovakia, with the exception of the widespread use of electronic prescriptions, has not yet been systematically or procedurally established," Dr Vladimír Dvorový, a cardiologist and the president of Slovak Society for Telemedicine and Digital Health told Euractiv.
A survey by MNForce for Dôvera health insurance company showed that more than a third of Slovakia's population has never heard of telemedicine services, such as online consultations and examinations with a doctor via phone, mobile app, or video call.
Health insurance companies took the initiative and used the pandemic as a springboard to set up telemedicine pilot programmes for heart disease monitoring, dermatology consultation and better remote connections with general practitioners.
Dr Dvorový argues that there are rational clinical and economic arguments for the use of telemedicine today. “It would be beneficial for regulators to consider these and facilitate access to the resulting benefits for the system, patients, and healthcare providers.”
“I also believe in the successful completion of clinical studies initiated in Slovakia and their translation into practice, transforming telemedicine into one of the standard methods of healthcare delivery that will either replace or complement current modalities,” Dr Dvorový remarked. Read the full story here. Back to the top |
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Bulgarian court case sheds light on hospital infections cover-up |
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Bulgaria - A patient left nearly blind after hospital-acquired infection following eye surgery sued the largest hospital in the Bulgarian city of Pleven for €20,000 in damages - but she wasn't the only one to be infected that day.
Maria Sharkova, the lawyer of the plaintiff, told Euractiv: "When I started researching the case, the patient told me that other patients had undergone surgery with her on the same day, and then she met four of them in the hospital with the same infection.It turned out that there was an outbreak of hospital-acquired infections in the medical facility."
The court said that the infection occurred when bacteria enters the eye from some of the reusable instruments used to treat the eye lens. The infections were not recorded in the hospital's records. In the court’s decision it described this as an attempted cover up.
"Nosocomial infections are the dirty secret of Bulgarian healthcare. The lack of reporting, analysis and adequate control leads to frequent complications and loss of human life, to disability and costs our healthcare system millions of euros directly and indirectly. That is why we need to talk about the topic and take adequate measures for prevention and control", said Maria Sharkova.
According to data from the European Centre for Disease Control, Bulgaria reports almost half of nosocomial infections compared to the EU average. Read the full story here. Back to the top |
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Czech government avoids doctors’ strike, but cuts money for innovative treatments |
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Czechia - Czech patients' organisations have warned that a new healthcare deal could negatively affect access to innovative treatments.
After reaching a funding agreement with the health ministry, general practitioners cancelled planned protests at the end of October.
"The agreement we reached is acceptable to both parties and will ensure further improvements in primary care," announced Petr Šonka, the president of the General Practitioners Association, adding that the increased funding could also encourage practitioners to accept more patients, particularly elderly ones.
"The additional funds come from the reserve allocated for centre-based treatment," said Czech Health Minister Vlastimil Válek (TOP 09, EPP).
Centre-based care focuses on delivering cutting-edge treatments in specialised centres. As Euractiv reported, this approach has significantly improved life expectancy and quality of life for those suffering from various diseases.
Using the reserve has triggered criticism from patient organisations and pharmaceutical companies. Critics argue that this reallocation of money could seriously impact the availability of modern therapies for thousands of patients. Read the full story here. Back to the top |
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Ireland becomes first country in EU to raise its age of sale of tobacco to 21 |
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Ireland - Ireland’s Public Health (Tobacco) Bill 2024 has completed its passage through parliament. The Bill will increase the minimum legal age of the sale of tobacco products to 21 years of age.
The objective of the legislation is to reduce the prevalence of adult smoking, which has remained stubbornly high at 18%.
"Ireland has long been a world leader in tackling smoking, beginning with the workplace smoking ban in 2004 and continuing with a range of measures including restrictions around the sale, advertising and packaging of smoking products to make them less attractive and less available to young people,” said Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
"I look forward to seeing this measure enacted, to help our young people to avoid the lifetime of addiction and illness that tobacco smoking brings."
The Bill comes into force in February 2028, this allows a transition period to ensure that individuals currently eligible to purchase tobacco products are not impacted.
Penalties for anyone convicted of selling tobacco products to people under the age of 18 will be extended to cover convictions relating to sales to people under the age of 21, including fines of up to €4,000 or six months’ imprisonment. Back to the top |
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| Informal European Council of heads of government, Budapest |
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| INB, Pandemic Agreement, Geneva |
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| INB, Pandemic Agreement, Geneva |
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| Briefing Health Emergencies in the Eastern Mediterranean |
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| LinkedIn live Q&A session about antimicrobial resistance |
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| Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) |
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| Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices |
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| Commissioner-designate hearings 14:30 - 17:30 Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President-designate of the European Commission for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy |
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| INB, Pandemic Agreement, Geneva |
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| Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) |
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| Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices |
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| Request for Council authorisation for Commission’s endorsement, on behalf of the Union, of the “Jeddah commitments” from the 4th global high-level ministerial conference on antimicrobial resistance |
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| INB, Pandemic Agreement, Geneva |
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| Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) |
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| Steering Group on Shortages and Safety of Medicinal Products (MSSG) |
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| Mini-plenary, Brussels Debate on Enhancing Europe’s civilian and defence preparedness |
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| INB, Pandemic Agreement, Geneva |
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| Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) |
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Today’s brief was brought to you by Euractiv’s Health team |
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Today’s briefing was prepared by the Health team: Catherine Feore, Clara Bauer-Babef, Emma Pirnay, Thomas Mangin, and Lydia Williams. Additional reporting by Filip Áč, Krassen Nikolov and Aneta Zachová. Share your feedback or information with us at digital@euractiv.com. |
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