Belgium:
The EU has struck a deal to double its provide of the BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to 600 million doses, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen mentioned on Friday.
The 27-nation bloc has been hit with increasing criticism that the vaccine rollout that began December 27 has been as well slow, particularly compared with nations 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 authorized 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 mentioned other vaccine authorisations had been anticipated “in the coming weeks and months” so “Europe will have more than enough vaccine within a reliable timeframe”.
Leaders will talk about coordination on the fight against the pandemic at a videosummit on January 21, a spokesman mentioned.
Von der Leyen insisted the Commission had taken the ideal course of action on vaccines. She mentioned international competitors for promising candidates was fierce when it began negotiations early final year on behalf of the EU’s member states.
The EU had to sift by means of 160 vaccine candidates to arrive at the six it retained as the most most likely to work and feasible to distribute on a huge scale, she mentioned.
She admitted, even though, that “difficult months” lay ahead in ramping up inoculations for the reason that of the scale of the job and the higher quantity 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 a variety of vaccines — sufficient for the complete 450-million EU population on the basis of a two-dose regimen per individual, plus additional for poorer neighbouring nations.
The announced extension of the BioNTech/Pfizer contract is for a firm obtain of 200 million doses plus an solution for one hundred million more, with the added doses beginning to be delivered in the second quarter of this year.
Responding to reports that Germany had sought its personal vaccine provide outdoors 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 mentioned.
Asked about Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was open to creating 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 mentioned.
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