The European Union will receive an additional 50 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech this month, accelerating its efforts to accelerate vaccination amid difficulties with vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
The announcement by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, is part of the European Union’s tough pivot for mRNA vaccines like Pfizer, which is basing its future coronavirus response on it.
The measures come a day after Johnson & Johnson suspended rollout of its vaccine in the European Union and the block continued to suffer from the restrictions of the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of extremely rare but serious potential side effects from both.
The 27-nation bloc has also started negotiations with Pfizer for the delivery of 1.8 billion new doses of vaccine – including booster shots to extend immunity and new vaccines to combat emerging variants – in 2022 and 2023, Ms. von der Leyen said .
In another setback for AstraZeneca, Denmark became the first country to permanently stop administering the company’s vaccine on Wednesday. The potential side effects are significant enough to do so, given that the pandemic was under control and two other vaccines could be used. from Pfizer and Moderna.
The European Union has not canceled its existing orders for the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but has signaled that they will no longer be placing.
The European Medicines Agency, the bloc’s top medicine agency, goes on to say that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine far outweigh the risks of a dangerous but extremely rare blood disorder for most people. On Wednesday, the agency said it was accelerating its investigation of “very rare cases of unusual blood clots” in recipients of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and is expected to issue a recommendation next week.
During the ongoing evaluation, the Agency reiterated its view that it will reap the benefits Vaccine also outweigh the risks.
The European Union’s move away from AstraZeneca follows troubled months as relations between the company and the bloc deteriorated due to late deliveries and unpredictable deliveries. And since then, concerns about possible side effects have heightened skepticism about vaccines, which was already dangerously high in Europe.
These problems have contributed to the fact that Europe has lagged seriously behind vaccination campaigns in the US and UK. The block hopes the new Pfizer broadcasts will help it catch up and meet its goal of fully vaccinating 70 percent of its adult population, roughly 255 million people, by the end of the summer.
Pfizer’s commitment to move ahead with deliveries of the 50 million cans originally planned for the end of the year means the company will deliver a total of 250 million cans to the block by the end of June.
“We now have to concentrate on technologies that have proven themselves: mRNA vaccines are a clear example of this,” said Ms. von der Leyen.
Monika Pronczuk contributed to the reporting.
