By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
have joined other European Union members in calling for the
bloc's drugs regulator to move quickly in approving
AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency said last week it would review
the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Britain's Oxford
University this month under an accelerated timeline.
The prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said
they supported calls already made by by Austria, the Czech
Republic, Greece and Denmark for the vaccine to be approved.
"Precision of procedures matters. But so does speed. The
delays cost lives," the three Baltic state leaders each wrote on
their Twitter feeds, calling for Astrazeneca and other
authorities to deploy swiftly once approval was secured.
Lithuania said last week it would receive enough COVID-19
vaccines to innoculate 70% of its population by early July, a
level that would achieve herd immunity and control the spread of
the infection. The schedule hinges on securing enough shots.
(Reporting By Andrius Sytas; Editing by Edmund Blair)