Portugal, Porto-European Union has agreed on Saturday to strengthen support for Pfizer-BioNTech and its COVID-19 vaccine technology, with a potential 1.8 billion major contract extension by 2023.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said her office has approved a contract guaranteeing 900 million doses at the same dose as future options.
The new contract, unanimously endorsed by 27 EU member states, requires not only the production of vaccines, but also the confirmation that all essential ingredients are sourced from the EU.
The European Commission currently has a portfolio of 2.6 billion doses from half a dozen companies. Pfizer-BioNTech has 600 million initial contracts with the EU.
The announcement on Saturday also underscores the confidence that the EU has shown in the technology behind the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. This is different from how the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine works.
“But of course, we will consider other contracts based on other technologies, such as protein-based technologies. The important point is to keep our options open,” said Von der Leyen, Portugal. Said at the EU Summit at.
The active ingredient in Pfizer-BioNTech Shot is messenger RNA (mRNA), which contains instructions for human cells to build part of the virus called the spike protein. The human immune system recognizes peplomer as a foreign body and allows it to initiate a response to the virus upon infection.
The announcement of a huge contract extension has provided the EU with the necessary booster shots for already vaccinated people, expanding the vaccination drive to include children and teenagers, and addressing the emergence of potential new ones. A variant of the virus that comes when you are looking for a way to do it.
According to von der Leyen, the size of the contract (1.8 billion doses per block of 450 million residents) will offer many options.
“This includes the possibility of member states donating or reselling doses,” she said.
Pfizer in the US and BioNTech in Germany have already stated that they will provide the EU with an additional 50 million doses in the second quarter of this year to compensate for the stagnation in AstraZeneca’s delivery.
In contrast to the often criticized Anglo-Sweden AstraZeneca, Fonde Araien states that Pfizer-BioNTech is a reliable partner in fulfilling its commitment.
Two weeks ago, the EU filed a proceeding against AstraZeneca for not respecting the terms and conditions of the contract with Block in 27 countries.
The AstraZeneca vaccine was at the heart of Europe’s vaccination campaign and the cornerstone of a global strategy to reach poorer countries. However, the slow pace of delivery has frustrated Europeans, who have held the company responsible for partially delaying the deployment of vaccines.
So far, according to Von der Leyen, the EU has provided about 200 million doses to 450 million residents, about the same number being exported from the block.
Rough Kazart and Barry Hatton