European Commission to order 1.8B vaccine doses for EU

The European Commission (EC) plans to order up to 1.8 billion more doses of the "modified" COVID-19 vaccine for EU countries to protect the population from existing and possible new coronavirus mutations, Report states, citing TASS.

On April 9, the European Commission presented its plans to the community countries on the possibility of concluding a preliminary supply contract with one of the major manufacturers, the publication said. The EU may receive the first batches this year and the next ones within the next two years. Moreover, it is assumed that the shots can be used for both children and adolescents.

The EC plans to conclude a contract with only one manufacturer and invites the EU countries to consider possible options in the coming days. The focus is primarily on mRNA vaccines, as well as companies that produce them in Europe. As the newspaper noted, the range of manufacturers has reduced: the EU countries use only two drugs - from the BioNTech/Pfizer consortium and the American company Moderna. The CureVac vaccine may soon be approved.

Sources in the EC noted that the European Commission first of all plans to apply for a possible order of the vaccine to the BioNTech/Pfizer consortium.