After a series of restrictions placed on AstraZeneca’s vaccine and while Johnson & Johnson is equally in turmoil, the European Commission appears to want to take the lead this time: the President of the institution, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Wednesday 14 April that a new agreement had been reached with the Pfizer/BioNTech group for 50 million additional doses. A third contract is also reportedly in the process of being negotiated.
The 50 million doses that have been announced will be delivered this April and not in the fourth quarter, as originally planned.
“This will bring the total doses delivered by Pfizer/BioNTech to 250 million doses in the second quarter”, said the President. Regarding the allocation key for the additional doses, they will be distributed in proportion to the population of each Member State.
Mrs von der Leyen thanked the American-German group and praised its reliability, before announcing that a third contract was also being negotiated with Pfizer/BioNTech.
This will cover the delivery of 1.8 billion doses over the period 2021–2023 and will involve the production of both the vaccines and their essential components being based in the EU.
Focus on mRNA vaccines
The Commission’s aim is to ensure that Member States have access to a longer-term supply so that they are not caught off guard in the event of any recalls or the need to adapt to potential new variants.
“Having this in mind, we need to focus on technologies that have proven their worth. mRNA vaccines are a clear case in point”, she said, while also adding that “other contracts, with other companies, may follow”.
German MEP Peter Liese (EPP), who is particularly committed to working on health issues, suggested on Wednesday, “following talks with the Commission”, that the institution would, in future, only rely on vaccines manufactured by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and CureVac, the latter of which is still undergoing a rolling review by the European Medicines Agency.
“It is clear that the future belongs to mRNA vaccines. They are obviously more effective than the vector vaccines and seem to have fewer side effects”, he commented.
Indeed, the future does not look bright for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson’s vector-based vaccines. The restrictions imposed by nearly a dozen states on the former (see EUROPE 12694/2) are starting to be extended to the latter, which in turn is suspected of causing serious blood clots.
EMA conclusions due next week
The French government announced on Wednesday that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, like AstraZeneca’s, would only be given to people over the age of 55. In Denmark, use of the vaccine is even to be suspended. Johnson & Johnson itself has decided to postpone the deployment of its vaccine on the European continent (see EUROPE 12697/2).
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently investigating the risks associated with this vaccine (see EUROPE 12695/1): the process will be accelerated so that the conclusions can be issued next week, reported the EMA on Wednesday.
“While its review is ongoing, the EMA remains of the view that the benefits of the vaccine in preventing Covid-19 outweigh the risks of side effects”, said the Agency in a statement.
It also said it was continuing to monitor rare cases of blood clots in those people vaccinated with AstraZeneca and would review whether it needed to update recommendations regarding a second dose of the vaccine for those people who have already received it as their first dose.
A total of 100 million doses have already been given in the EU, out of a total of 126 million doses of vaccine received by Member States, according to the figures proudly shared by Ursula von der Leyen during her speech. Out of these 100 million vaccinations, she said, more than a quarter are second doses, “which means that we have now more than 27 million people fully vaccinated”. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)