Health
THE European Union and BioNTech/Pfizer have signed a contract by buying up to 1.8 billion extra doses of Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine over 2021-2023, following a deal struck earlier this month.
The new agreement allows member states to purchase 900 million doses of the current vaccine or a virus variant-adapted shot.
“It also gives member states the option of buying a further 900 million.
“BioNTech/Pfizer has been key in helping us deliver enough doses by July to vaccinate 70 per cent of the adult population,” commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the statement.
The EU already had two supply contracts with German firm BioNTech, which specialises in messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for 600 million vaccine doses.
Deliveries started at the end of 2020.
The bloc is expecting 250 million vaccine doses from the manufacturers from the beginning of April to the end of June.
The new contract will also allow the EU to vaccinate children; von der Leyen said when it was finalised.
The Head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called on wealthy countries to donate COVID-19 vaccinations to poor countries instead of immediately starting to vaccinate children.
NAN
– May 20, 2021 @ 15:09 GMT
Tags: BioNTech/Pfizer ink 1.8 billion vaccine dose mega-contract EU
