At the European Committee of the Regions Plenary local leaders including Francisco Igea, Vice-President of Castilla y León region, discussed Europe’s vaccine strategy with the World Health Organization. The debate was livestreamed online.
Local and regional leaders debated the progress and challenges of the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 and the potential role that regions and cities should play. One thing leaders are asking for is transparency.
Francisco Igea, Vice-President of the Castilla y León region and medical doctor, said:
- We need legislation to ban opaque contracts with pharmaceuticals. Confidentiality clauses in the middle of a pandemic undermine trust, delay vaccinations, and cost lives. As US Supreme Court judge Louis Brandeis once said, ‘sunlight is the best disinfectant’. Transparency is essential, especially in hard times.
Igea and other local leaders discussed the Covid-19 pandemic vaccination campaign with Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, Regional Director for Europe at the World Health Organization, on 4 February from 15.30 to 16.30. The debate was livestreamed on the website of the European Committee of the Regions.
