ARCHIVED - Pfizer Biontech and Astrazeneca agree to supply further vaccines to the EU

Even with the additional quantities promised, the EU is left short of vaccines to meet the expectations and demands of the bloc buying group

German company Biontech announced on Monday that it will supply the European Union with 75 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine in the second quarter (from April onwards) after completing building works to optimize the production processes at its Belgian Purus factory.

"We will continue working to increase supplies from February 15th onwards to reach the number of doses set out in the contracts," said the company's chief financial officer, Sierk Poetting, in a statement.

"Furthermore, in the second quarter we will be able to supply 75 million more doses to the EU," he added.

That supply is part of the second EU order for 200 million doses.

Biontech's announcement came almost immediately before a vaccination summit called by the German government, with representatives from pharmaceutical companies and the EU.

In addition, the producers of the three already licensed vaccines - Biontech / Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca - have had production problems that have delayed their supplies to the EU, which has also generated arguments between the EU and the manufactureres, with leaders of the European nations participating in the block buying process angry about the delay in supply.

Biontech will now be able to increase its production, according to Poetting, because optimization work has been completed at the Belgian Purus factory. "Now we can go back to the original vaccine supply plan for the EU," Poetting said.

In addition, the new factory in Marburg (central Germany) has received its license to start producing in February. Biontech has also increased its network of cooperations within Europe, contracting other manufactureres to produce the vaccine on its behalf.

Biontech now plans to almost double its production of vaccines in the face of world demand and to produce 2 billion doses this year compared to the 1.3 billion initially contemplated.

UK-Swedish drugs firm AstraZeneca has also announced that it will deliver a further 9 million doses to the EU before March. Bloc Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that AstraZeneca would "deliver 9 million additional doses in the first quarter (40 million in total) compared to last week's offer & will start deliveries one week earlier than scheduled".

She said this represented a 30% increase on the previous amount.

In August last year the EU contracted to buy 300 million doses from the company with an option for 100 million more, expecting 80 million to be delivered in the first quarter.

The EU has been criticized for ordering vaccines too late, in insufficient quantities from a number of suppliers, and for the laboured procedures required to authorise the use of the new vaccines within the EU, although the EMA has pointed out that it has a huge responsibility in authorising new vaccines in such a limited time-frame given the scarce data available from newly developed vaccines. At the time of placing the orders, none of the purchasers had sufficient data to know which of the potential vaccines would be ready first, or even whether the potential vaccines would be safe or efficient.

The UK has raced ahead of Europe in its vaccination programme after granting temporary authorisation to the vaccines being administered before anyone else and starting its vaccination programme earlier.

Here in Spain, only 1.7 million doses have been received since the campaign began, and with the Government insisting on administering both doses to the most vulnerable, this has further slowed down the roll-out.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has already warned the country that the lack of vaccines will make it more difficult for mobility to resume, although with the country fully immersed in a third wave and the average number of daily cases between 35 and 40,000 a day, short-term relief from the restrictions currently imposed is not expected.