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The European Commission expects to receive around 200 million doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the second quarter.
The EU aims to vaccinate at least 255 million people, or 70% of its adult population, by the end of the summer, but has faced criticism for the slow development of its inoculation campaign.
In addition to delays in the supply of some drug manufacturers and setbacks in vaccination plans, the suspension of inoculations with the AstraZeneca vaccine due to possible health problems is also affecting the EU campaign.
The EU had not previously said how many doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which is administered in two injections, it would receive in the April-June period under two confidential supply contracts with drug manufacturers.
Pfizer’s expected second-quarter deliveries will include 10 million doses originally planned for the third and fourth quarters of this year, the commission said.
The announcement does not change the overall EU forecast for the supply of 300 million-dose vaccines in the second quarter from all pharmaceutical companies with which the bloc has signed contracts.
“These 10 million accelerated doses will bring total BioNTech / Pfizer doses in the second quarter to more than 200 million,” said Commission Chair Ursula von der Leyen.
“This is very good news. It gives member states room to maneuver and possibly fill the gaps in deliveries,” he said.
Pfizer confirmed the EU statement regarding its second quarter supply.
The additional 10 million doses would be advanced from a 100 million dose option in a second contract the EU signed with drug makers in January, according to the EU statement.
NEW: The European Commission reaches an agreement with Pfizer / BioNTech for an expedited delivery of 10 million doses by the second quarter https://t.co/82K0yPWG10
– Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) March 16, 2021
In total, the EU has reserved 600 million doses from the two companies in the two contracts.
A spokesperson for the commission told a press conference that the announcement would not at this time lead to a review of the EU’s overall second-quarter delivery forecasts, despite the fact that total announced and expected deliveries were now higher.
The spokesperson said delivery times can always change, so forecasts are not always updated after announcements.
The EU expects to receive 55 million doses of vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and 35 million from Moderna in the second quarter, according to a delivery schedule published by the Italian government and an internal document on supply forecasts from the German Ministry of Health.
AstraZeneca announced last week that it was aiming to deliver 70 million doses to all 27 EU countries in the second quarter, well below its original contractual obligation of 180 million.
In the first three months of the year, the EU expects to receive around 100 million doses from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna.
Last week, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said that Ireland is set to receive an additional 46,500 vaccines before the end of March after the European Union announced an additional 4 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine.
The European Commission said those extra doses of vaccine will be delivered this month to tackle coronavirus hot spots and facilitate free border movement.
They will be distributed pro rata.
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