x

COVID-19: EU Doubles BioNTech/Pfizer Vaccine Order To 600 Million Jabs

The EU has struck a deal to double its supply of the BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to 600 million doses, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

The 27-nation bloc has been hit with rising criticism that the vaccine rollout that started December 27 has been too slow, especially compared with countries such as the United States or former EU member Britain.

“We have right now, access to 300 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine,” von der Leyen told a press conference, adding: “With the new agreement we could purchase a total of up to an additional 300 million doses.”

The EU has also approved the Moderna vaccine for use in the EU, von der Leyen saying “we have already secured an amount of doses that we need to vaccinate 380 million Europeans, and this is more than 80 percent of the European population”.

She said other vaccine authorisations were expected “in the coming weeks and months” so “Europe will have more than enough vaccine within a reliable timeframe”.

Leaders will discuss coordination on the fight against the pandemic at a video summit on January 21, a spokesman said.

Von der Leyen insisted the Commission had taken the right course of action on vaccines. She said global competition for promising candidates was fierce when it started negotiations early last year on behalf of the EU’s member states.

The EU had to sift through 160 vaccine candidates to arrive at the six it retained as the most likely to work and feasible to distribute on a massive scale, she said.

She admitted, though, that “difficult months” lay ahead in ramping up inoculations because of the scale of the task and the high number of infections.

“I’m convinced that when we look back at this one day we’ll see, well yes, at the beginning, there was a bumpy road (but) well, that’s always the case.”

– ‘No parallel contracts’ –
The European Commission now has contracts for 2.3 billion doses of various vaccines — enough for the entire 450-million EU population on the basis of a two-dose regimen per person, plus extra for poorer neighbouring countries.

The announced extension of the BioNTech/Pfizer contract is for a firm purchase of 200 million doses plus an option for 100 million more, with the additional doses starting to be delivered in the second quarter of this year.

Responding to reports that Germany had sought its own vaccine supply outside of the Commission channel, von der Leyen noted that the collective ordering scheme was legally binding.

EU capitals had agreed there would be “no parallel negotiations, no parallel contracts”, she said.

Asked about Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was open to producing it in the EU, von der Leyen emphasised the strict vetting procedures of the European Medicines Agency.

“Whatever vaccine is coming to the European market… has to go through an authorisation process with the EMA, so full transparency: all data have to be submitted for the whole scrutiny,” she said.

AFP

Hot this week

Kano Assembly Receives Two Commissioner Nominees from Gov. Yusuf

By Jabiru Hassan The Kano State House of Assembly has...

Plateau speaker Naanlong  demands creation of state police to tackle insecurity

By Israel Adamu, Jos  Speaker of the Plateau state House...

FG Cancels Independence Parade, Retains Other Anniversary Events

By Francis Wilfred ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal Government has...

Several Common Fallacies on the Taiwan Question

By Ambassador Yu Dunhai The 80th session of the United Nations...

CSOs Hail Court Order Stopping PENGASSAN’s Strike

…say parties must respect the rule of law A coalition...

My China Story: A Journey Through Beijing, Wuxi, and Qingdao

By Michael Onjewu, Abuja When I boarded my flight to...

10 Key Takeaways from Tinubu’s 65th Independence Day Broadcast

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his Independence Day address...

UK-Based Governance Report Lists Zamfara, Kwara, Benue Among Nigeria’s Poorest Managed States

A new governance performance review has ranked Zamfara, Kwara,...

FG Cancels Independence Parade, Retains Other Anniversary Events

By Francis Wilfred ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal Government has...

Nigeria @ 65: Sen. Akume Urges Shared Responsibility for Nation-Building

By Francis Wilfred ABUJA, Nigeria – As Nigeria prepares to...

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img