European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has announced plans for a major contract extension for Covid-19 vaccines with Pfizer stretching to 2023.
In a sign of confidence in a company that has been a mainstay of Europe’s vaccination drive so far, Ms von der Leyen said the EU will start negotiating to buy 1.8 billion doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine through until 2023.
She expressed full confidence in the technology used for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which is different from the one used for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
“We need to focus on the technologies that have proven their worth,” Ms von der Leyen said.
The European Commission currently has a portfolio of 2.3 billion doses from half a dozen companies and is negotiating more contracts.
