The European Union has agreed on increasing vaccine supplies from the Pfizer/BioNTech company to the member states. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, informed about it on Twitter on Wednesday. Of the 50 million doses, Czechia will receive about a million.
“We have just agreed with BioNTech-Pfizer to once again speed up vaccine delivery in the European Union,” the head of the European Commission wrote on Twitter.
We have just agreed with BioNTech-Pfizer to once again speed up vaccine delivery in ??
The delivery of 50 million doses will be accelerated to Q2, starting in April.
This is a 25% increase, bringing the number of doses delivered by BioNTech-Pfizer to the EU in Q2 to 250 million
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 14, 2021
Vaccine deliveries in the second quarter will increase by 50 million doses, or a quarter, to a total of 250 million doses, according to von der Leyen. Czechia should receive about 1.2 million doses. The country would otherwise get these vaccines by the end of the year, but now, according to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Czechia will receive them in April, May, and June.
For the Czech Republic, this means more than a million additional doses in April, May and June!
— Andrej Babiš (@AndrejBabis) April 14, 2021
The supply and distribution of vaccines in the European Union long-term contend with difficulties and delays, which earned the European Commission sharp criticism as it has concluded contracts with vaccine manufacturers. The vaccine produced by the United States and a German company could compensate European states for other companies’ supply disruptions.
The head of the European Commission has admitted that, in addition to restricting supplies from AstraZeneca, the suspension of Johnson & Johnson’s distribution announced on Tuesday due to health complications in the United States is also causing problems.
“That is why it is necessary to act flexibly, anticipate and adapt whenever possible,” von der Leyen said.
According to the EC president, the EU wants to primarily use the Pfizer/BioNTech product in the expected vaccine booster shots in the coming years. Therefore, the Commission has started negotiating a contract that will allow the member states to purchase around 1.8 billion doses by 2023.
Title image: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a statement after a meeting of the college of commissioners at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced plans Wednesday for a major contract extension for COVID-19 vaccines with Pfizer stretching to 2023. (John Thys, Pool via AP)
