US pharmaceutical company Pfizer has confirmed that the delivery of its COVID-19 vaccine to Europe will be temporarily reduced, while increasing production capacity to 2 billion doses per year.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – The US pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed on Friday that the delivery of its COVID-19 vaccine to Europe will be temporarily reduced, while increasing production capacity to 2 billion doses per year.
The head of the EU commission said she immediately called the CEO of Pfizer. But as an indication that the problem may extend beyond Europe, the Government of Canada said it was also affected.
Line Fedders, a spokesperson for Pfizer Denmark, said that in order to reach the new 2 billion dose target, Pfizer is increasing production at the factory in Puurs, Belgium. the authorities. ”
“As a result, fewer doses will be available for European countries in late January and early February,” she said.
“This temporary reduction will affect all European countries,” she told The Associated Press.
The German Ministry of Health said on Friday that Pfizer had informed the European Commission, which was responsible for ordering vaccines from the company, that it would not be able to meet all the promised deliveries in the next three to four weeks.
The ministry said German officials had “regretted” the unexpected announcement because the company had entered into binding delivery commitments in mid-February.
“The federal and state governments expect the European Commission to provide clarity and certainty as soon as possible in negotiations with Pfizer on further deliveries and delivery dates,” the statement said.
The Commission has concluded the vaccine trade on behalf of all 27 member states, but is not responsible for the timetable and deliveries.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she “immediately called the Pfizer CEO.”
‘He reassured me that all guaranteed doses from the first term will be delivered in the first term. “He is personally working on the matter of reducing the delay period and making sure that they will catch up as soon as possible,” von der Leyen said.
Earlier on Friday, health policy spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker said deliveries were made on the basis of orders and specific contracts concluded between member states and businesses.
“The details of these arrangements are set out in these orders or contracts,” he said.
The Commission has provided up to 600 million extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which is manufactured in partnership with German BioNTech.
Pfizer’s Belgian plant delivers all shots delivered outside the United States, including Canada, where Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Friday that the U.S. drugmaker was temporarily reducing deliveries due to problems with its European production lines. While the company said it could still deliver four million doses by the end of March, it was no longer guaranteed, she said.
Canadian officials said the reduction means Canada’s vaccines will be halved by next month.
The country has so far received only 380,000 doses of the vaccine and had to receive another 400,000 this month, expecting nearly two million doses in February.
Norwegian authorities also said on Friday that they had been notified by Pfizer about the reduction, which will begin next week, as the company increases its annual dose target of the current 1.3 billion.
“We predicted 43,475 doses of Pfizer in week 3. It would appear we are getting 36,075 doses,” said Geir Bukholm, director of infection control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
“The stock we have now will be able to compensate for the decline in the planned delivery for a few weeks in advance if necessary,” he said.
In Finland, broadcaster YLE said the delay would cause problems with domestic delivery in late January and early February.
Danish officials expressed concern.
Henrik Ullum, head of the Statens Serum Institut, a government agency that maps the spread of the coronavirus in Denmark, said he expected the development to mean that “in the near future we can vaccinate less than was first accepted.”
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Samuel Petrequin and Raf Casert in Brussels, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed.