The European Commission’s new Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, or HERA, has received mixed reactions from authorities and health experts since its launch. Some think it’s a “huge asset” for the European Union to address future health threats, while others question its ambition and the exclusion of the European Parliament in its creation.
But for global health experts and members of civil society who’ve seen inequities in access to COVID-19 vaccines and other products amid the pandemic, a key question for the new entity is how will it ensure global access to “medical countermeasures” — medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and other medical supplies to be used in a public health emergency — to benefit not just Europe but globally.
A European Commission official told Devex that “HERA will not succeed if it becomes a European silo. Or if it works for Europe first. If HERA’s outlook is not global, it will not deliver on its mission.”