BERLIN (AP) – As concerns about vaccine delays have spread across Europe, Pfizer and BioNTech said on Wednesday they had finalized an agreement to supply the European Union with another 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
American and German companies said in a statement that the doses add to the 300 million doses of vaccine that the bloc initially ordered. The EU Executive Committee has the option of requesting another 100 million doses.
They said the 200 million doses are expected to be given this year, of which about 75 million will be given in the second quarter.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first of three to be approved for use in the EU, which faced strong criticism for a slow start to its vaccination campaign, compared to countries such as Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States. The other two EU-approved vaccines come from Moderna and AstraZeneca.
Delays in planned deliveries from all these vaccine manufacturers have fueled dissatisfaction among European governments.
Last month, Pfizer said it was temporarily reducing deliveries to Europe and Canada, while improving production capacity at its plant in Belgium. The EU also had a public spit with AstraZeneca to receive fewer vaccines than anticipated. The head of AstraZeneca blamed the delay on the new factories that have to solve the problems of vaccine production.
“We are constantly working to support the further launch of vaccination campaigns in Europe and around the world by expanding production capacity,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on Wednesday.
BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin mentioned that his company will start production at its new plant in Marburg, Germany, this month and has strengthened its production network with other partners.
“We continue to assess, together with governments, authorities and partners at all levels, how we can address a future and higher supply requirement for our vaccines,” he said.
Wednesday’s statement did not provide financial details on the latest EU-Pfizer agreement.
On Tuesday, the European Medicines Agency said it had received a request from Johnson & Johnson for its coronavirus vaccine to be authorized. The EU Medicines Regulatory Authority said it could issue an opinion by mid-March. The J&J vaccine is given in one shot, while the other three vaccines required two shots a few weeks apart.
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