European Commission signs agreement with Pfizer to purchase up to 1.8 billion vaccine doses

The European Commission (EC) on Thursday signed the agreement - already announced in April - with Pfizer-BioNTech, for the purchase of 900 million vaccines against COVID-19 between the end of 2021 and 2023, with the option of an additional 900 million doses, according to the EU executive. 

According to Brussels, the agreement stipulates that from 2022 the delivery of the vaccines must be guaranteed, that their production must take place in the EU, and that the essential components for their manufacture must also be obtained in the EU. 

The possibility for Member States to resell or donate doses to countries in need outside the EU or through the COVAX Facility has been reinforced, contributing to a global and fair access to the vaccine across the world.

"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," EC president Ursula Von der Leyen wrote on her official Twitter account.

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". 

When announcing the deal, Von der Leyen said Brussels had opted to renew the agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech because of the guarantees it offers in fulfilling the current contract and because its vaccine is based on new messenger RNA technology.

The aim is to have enough vaccine to be able to combat the variants and to be able to cope with the vaccination of children, as well as to have enough vaccine available for a possible third dose in the next few years.