AstraZeneca increases EU’s Q1 vaccine estimate to 40M
Following last week's announcement of supply decrease, company raises projection by 9 million
The Associated Press has reported that AstraZeneca—whose coronavirus vaccine was officially granted conditional authorization by the European Commission late last week—has agreed to supply nine million additional doses of the vaccine to the European Union during the first quarter.
The new target of 40 million doses by the end of March is half of what the pharma company had originally aimed for before it announced a shortfall due to issues with production, which resulted in a back-and-forth between AstraZeneca and the EU last week. Prior to making its most recent announcement, AstraZeneca had said it would decrease its initial supply from 80 million to 31 million doses to the 27-member region.
Following a call with seven vaccine makers yesterday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that AstraZeneca will begin deliveries one week earlier than scheduled, and will expand its manufacturing capacity in Europe, AP reports.
The EU is trailing Britain and the US in getting its population of 450 million vaccinated. The slow rollout has reportedly been blamed on various issues, including slower authorization of the vaccines and an initial shortage of supply.
