If a vaccine is safe, Europe should review its use - French vaccine strategy chief:

If a vaccine is shown to be of good quality and safe against the new coronavirus, European health authorities should review its possible use without "bias" about its origin, the immunologist coordinating France's vaccination strategy said on Friday. Alain Fischer made the comments on BFM television after being asked about Hungary agreeing to buy doses of Chinese firm Sinopharm's vaccine as well as doses of a Russian vaccine.

If a vaccine is shown to be of good quality and safe against the new coronavirus, European health authorities should review its possible use without "bias" about its origin, the immunologist coordinating France's vaccination strategy said on Friday.

Alain Fischer made the comments on BFM television after being asked about Hungary agreeing to buy doses of Chinese firm Sinopharm's vaccine as well as doses of a Russian vaccine. "All vaccines must be looked at. We must not have any bias over the origin of a vaccine. If vaccines demonstrate they are safe, efficient, good quality products, and can eventually be rolled out at European level, why not (use them)? They must just meet these requirements," Fischer said.

Fischer also said it would be a "severe mistake" to slow down the roll-out of the current vaccination programme in France were the government to decide on a third lockdown. Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday new variants of the coronavirus were circulating more widely every week and that a tighter curfew put in place almost two weeks ago in France had not curbed the spread of the virus.