The European Union has cemented its support for Pfizer/BioNTech and its novel Covid-19 vaccine technology by agreeing to a massive contract extension for a potential 1.8 billion doses until 2023. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that her office “has just approved a contract for a guaranteed 900 million doses (+900 million options)”. “Other contracts and other vaccine technologies will follow,” Ms von der Leyen said in her Twitter message. Saturday’s announcement also underlines the confidence the EU has shown in the technology used for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which is different from that behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. In contrast to the oft-criticised Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca, Ms von der Leyen has said Pfizer/BioNTech is a reliable partner that delivers on its commitments.

Source: Irish Independent May 08, 2021 11:09 UTC