Health
Access to SMA standards of care remains an open issue in Europe
For people living with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), access to suitable and effective treatment often depends on which EU country they live in. Stakeholders are now calling for equal access to standards of care across the bloc.
Luxembourg moves to allow growing recreational cannabis at home
The Luxembourgish government announced on Friday (22 October) it will allow its 620,000 inhabitants to grow cannabis for personal use.
Vaccine waiver battle rumbles into EU–African Union summit
EU and African officials are still at loggerheads over whether to waive intellectual property protection for COVID vaccines ahead of a meeting between EU and African Union foreign ministers meet in Rwanda next week.
French government to invest €650 million in digital health
France has the potential to be a "leader in digital health", Health Minister Olivier Véran has said, announcing an investment plan of €650 million, divided into five axes, to accelerate the national digital health strategy, as part of the Health Innovation 2030 plan.
India reaches milestone of one billion vaccinations
India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive has achieved a historic milestone of administering 1 billion vaccine doses, mostly India-made, the authorities in New Delhi announced on Thursday (21 October).
MEPs unite to protect workers from toxic asbestos in ‘historic’ vote
The European Parliament has voted by a vast majority to adopt a report on protecting workers from asbestos in what has been dubbed a "historic" move.
New EU’s pharma rules: a game-changer for strategic autonomy on plasma?
Ensuring sufficient plasma collection in Europe remains a thorny issue but the forthcoming revision of the EU framework for pharmaceuticals offers the potential to turn the tide.
Opioid use: “more controlled” in Europe than in the US
The consumption of opioid painkillers increased in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Is this enough to signal the risk of an opioid crisis similar to the one in the United States? Not really, experts say.
Health Brief: Health design wins the day
The winner of the DesignEuropa awards has come from the healthcare sector for the second edition in a row, highlighting the increasing importance of a user-friendly approach in developing medical devices. The portable and compact patient monitor IntelliVueX3, developed by...
Latvia announces four weeks of lockdown as COVID-19 cases spike
Latvia announced a COVID-19 lockdown from 21 October until 15 November to try to slow a spike in infections in one of the least vaccinated European Union countries.
Commission’s advertisement team-up with UEFA raises hackles
The launch of the European Commission’s new #EveryTrickCounts campaign seeks to leverage the widespread love of Europe’s favourite sport but has resulted in ridicule and scathing accusations of "greenwashing".
Fighting metastatic breast cancer is a race against time in Poland
Ewa Myślińska is a 29-year-old patient who has been fighting cancer for four years now. She remembers it was 9 October when she touched her breast incidentally and felt a strange hardness. EURACTIV Poland reports.
EU response to the pandemic reveals need to do more on health
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the lack of medical stockpiles across the EU and the vulnerability of EU supply chains for critical medical countermeasures, reinforcing the message that political leadership remains at the core of creating resilient healthcare to fight future health crises.
Spanish medical experts warn about advanced breast cancer after COVID-19 slowdown
Spain’s focus on handling the COVID-19 pandemic has overshadowed other vital healthcare fields. Medical professionals warn that an increasing number of patients are now only accessing treatment when the cancer has already spread.
Latvia’s president contracts COVID despite being vaccinated
Latvian President Egils Levits has contracted COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated, his chief of staff said Thursday (14 October), as the Baltic country reported a new record for daily coronavirus cases.
Italian patients with advanced breast cancer in search of information
Despite efforts to raise awareness by the authorities, patients with metastatic breast cancer in Italy are still struggling to understand what options they have and often lose precious time trying to identify the latest available treatments.
MEPs call for the EU pharma strategy to address medicine shortages
MEPs adopted a draft report on Tuesday (12 October) aimed at strengthening the EU's pharmaceutical strategy to ensure every patient has reliable and timely access to medicines, as shortages have been increasing since 2000. EURACTIV France reports.
Europe airlines call for US date for flight resumption
Europe’s airlines on Wednesday (13 October) urged the US authorities to provide a date for the reopening of its borders to vaccinated passengers and for an agreed list of recognised vaccines. US President Joe Biden announced last month that the...
Germany frontrunner for metastatic breast cancer drug approvals, with some hiccups
While the German healthcare system is at Europe's forefront in terms of making drugs available for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, problems still arise as some important drugs have been withdrawn from the market.
Europabio: Life science needs future-proof approach to become innovation ‘powerhouse’
The EU's policy priorities are a once-in-a-generation change to the regulatory framework offering both the industrial biotech and healthcare sectors an opportunity to set a direction for the next decades, says the newly appointed chairman of EuropaBio.
English football league launches environmental sustainability scheme
The English football league (EFL) announced Monday (11 October) that it would join forces with the environmental accreditation scheme GreenCode to make the second-highest league in England more sustainable.
France leads Europe in care for metastatic breast cancer patients, but not in screening
Although France is seen as a "leader" in organising the care of women with metastatic cancer, as their quality of life has become an essential aspect of patient care in France, screening - which can reduce mortality by 20% - must be stepped up. EURACTIV France reports.
Health Brief – Mental health: an ’emergency spreading across the EU’
Health experts and policymakers have called on governments to step up and take the pandemic as a wake-up call to adopt impactful mental health policies, as outlined in a new report.