The European Commission has announced that it has signed a third contract to secure an additional 1.8 billion BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine doses
The contract reserves an additional 1.8 billion doses on behalf of all EU Member States between the end of 2021 to 2023.
It will allow for the purchase of 900 million doses of the current vaccine and of a vaccine adapted to variants, with the option to purchase an additional 900 million doses.
Guaranteed supply
The contract requires that production is based in the EU and that essential components are sourced from the EU. It also stipulates that delivery to the EU is guaranteed from the start of the supply in 2022.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said:
“With our signature, the new contract is now in force, which is good news for our long term fight to protect European citizens against the virus and its variants! Production and delivery in the EU of up to 1.8 billion doses are guaranteed. Potential contracts with other manufacturers will follow the same model, to the benefit of all.”
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said:
“We need to be one step ahead of the virus. This means having access to adapted vaccines to protect us against the threat of variants, booster vaccines to prolong immunity, as well as protecting our younger population. Our focus is a priority on technologies that have proven their worth, like mRNA vaccines, but we keep our options open.
“The past months have clearly demonstrated the need to have access to a broad portfolio of vaccines and different technologies, as well as reliable partners. As the pace of vaccination increases every day and work on effective therapeutics intensifies, we can look ahead with more optimism and confidence.”
