EU Reporter Published 24 seconds ago Welcome, health colleagues, to the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) update – there is controversy afoot concerning access to new medicines across Europe, doubts expressed over sufficiency of COVID testing alone for foreign travel, and the end of the Medical Device Regulation’s transition period, writes EAPM Executive Director Dr. Denis Horgan. Stark divide on access to new medicines globally and in Europe The coronavirus pandemic is far from over, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed this week, as he lamented new variants, vaccines shortages, and a global disparity in access to inoculations. "There is a huge disconnect growing, where in some countries with the highest vaccination rates, there appears to be a mindset that the pandemic is over, while others are experiencing huge waves of infection," Tedros said. He expressed further concern about areas experiencing a continued high number of COVID-19 cases and places that had previously made progress are facing a new wave of cases and hospitalization. "The pandemic is a long way from over," he said, "and it will not be over anywhere until it's over everywhere."In the fight against the coronavirus, some countries are faring better than others. In the United States, for example, cases have been dropping as more and more people get vaccinated.