“From everything we know at the moment and following talks that have taken place between experts from the European authorities,” the new strain of Covid “has no impact on vaccines “which remain” just as effective “, said German Minister of Health Jens Spahn.

“This would be very good news,” added the minister, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, on public broadcaster ZDF. The vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech laboratories, already used in several countries around the world, is about to receive approval from the European Medicines Agency.

Read also: Covid: vaccination has started in the United Kingdom

A more contagious mutation

This meeting between experts from European Union countries on the subject, in which representatives of the German health surveillance authority (RKI) participated, took place on December 20, told AFP a spokesperson for the ministry.

This variant of Covid-19, observed in particular in Great Britain, is considered to be possibly 70% more contagious than the previous one.

A handful of cases have also been reported in Denmark (nine), as well as one case in the Netherlands and Australia, according to the World Health Organization.

Read also: Covid: should we be worried about the new mutation that has appeared in the United Kingdom?

A new crisis meeting

Germany, as EU presidency, has also convened for December 21 a crisis meeting between experts from different countries to coordinate their response to this new threat, said the spokesperson.

This is a meeting of the so-called European Crisis Situation Mechanism (IPCR), which the EU has recourse to when faced with significant health, environmental or terrorist risks, for example.