Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Health

EU hopeful first vaccine doses will come by end of year

FILE PHOTO: Small bottles labeled with a "Vaccine COVID-19" sticker and a medical syringe are seen in this illustration taken taken April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

The European Union hopes it will get 30 million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year, the first batch in a deal struck with British drugmaker AstraZeneca, a European Commission official said on Thursday.

Assuming one dose per person, such a first batch would cover 6-7% of the EU population.

The European Commission has made a 336-million-euro ($397.8 million) down payment to AstraZeneca to secure at least 300 million doses of its potential vaccine, with an option to buy a further 100 million doses.

"We want all the member states to have the same price but also to have the vaccine at the same time. It means that, for instance, for AstraZeneca, we will have I would say at the end of this year a certain number of doses - hopefully 30 million doses," the official said.

"These doses will be distributed pro-rata among the member states and so on and so forth until we get to a total of the 300 million doses we have negotiated."

The official noted that the European Commission itself would not own a single vial. The EU's 27 member countries, which have all opted into the deal, would have to purchase doses. They would also decide themselves who to vaccinate first.

Brussels is also in advanced talks with Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Moderna and CureVac for their potential vaccines.

The Commission official said it was also hopeful of bridging a small gap in talks with Pfizer and BionTech for the shot they are developing together.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.