AstraZeneca to provide EU with 9 million more vaccines

Drugmaker AstraZeneca has agreed to provide 9 million more doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union’s (EU) member-states amid a dispute with the bloc over the number of doses it will have available due to a supply issue.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wrote on Twitter that an agreement to provide more vaccines had been reached. The company had offered 8 million doses on Thursday, totaling 31 million for the first quarter of 2021, but on Sunday revised that number to 40 million. AstraZeneca had originally promised 400 million doses of its vaccine, which was authorized for use across Europe last week, for EU member-nations but earlier in January cited production problems at a factory in Belgium and said it would be forced to revise the number it can provide.

“Step forward on vaccines. @AstraZeneca will 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. The company will also expand its manufacturing capacity in Europe,” tweeted von der Leyen.

Step forward on vaccines.@AstraZeneca will 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.

The company will also expand its manufacturing capacity in Europe.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 31, 2021

Von der Leyen has added in previous tweets that she still expects the company to fulfill its commitment to provide the rest of the 400 million doses when it is able.

AstraZeneca did not immediately return a request for comment.

Several vaccines for COVID-19 have now been approved across Europe, including AstraZeneca’s as well as those manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer. Still, the rate of new COVID-19 cases remains high in part due to the spread of new variants of the disease including one thought to have originated in the U.K. that experts say is more contagious than previous iterations of the virus.