Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union Executive Committee, revealed that the EU has reached an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech, a German biotech company, to double the amount of vaccines supplied by the two companies to 600 million doses. The EU has previously ordered 300 million doses of vaccines developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. About 1.3 billion doses of the vaccine were produced, half of which were supplied to Europe.
According to AFP, the European Union purchased an additional 300 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, doubling the total number of doses ordered to 600 million. According to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union Executive Committee, at a press conference on Friday, the EU now has access to 300 million doses of vaccines developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. The latest good news is that the EU has expanded contracts with both companies. Under the new agreement, the EU can purchase a total of up to 300 million additional doses of vaccines.
The EU reached an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech last November to order 300 million doses of vaccines. Pfizer said the company could produce up to 1.3 billion doses of vaccines worldwide this year. This means that nearly half of the two companies’ global vaccine output this year will be supplied to the EU.
The agreement will allow EU governments to order new vaccine doses starting in April; 75 million additional doses will be delivered in the second quarter of this year, and the remaining additional doses will be delivered at the end of this year, Van der Laan noted. The 27-nation European Union is rushing to boost vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for the 450 million people within its borders. Each person who receives the Pfizer vaccine will need to administer two doses to produce maximum protection.
AFP said EU countries usually allocate vaccine doses in proportion to their populations, but it is unclear whether all EU governments will order vaccines under the new contract.
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