Close-up view of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccination vial.
Hugh Hastings | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON – According to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Pfizer will temporarily reduce the number of doses of its coronavirus vaccine delivered to Europe.
The authority said in a statement released Friday that deliveries of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine would be reduced from next week “and for a period to come.”
The NIPH said it received a message from Pfizer on Friday “just before 10 a.m.,” according to a translation of the statement.
“We were predicted by Pfizer for 43,875 doses of the vaccine at week 3. Now it looks like we are getting 36,075 doses,” the statement said. A Pfizer spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
It stated that the temporary reduction in deliveries was “related to an improvement in production capacity”. “The temporary reduction will affect all European countries,” he added.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday that he was confident it could “dramatically” increase production of the vaccine this year with the goal of producing up to 2 billion doses.
Bourla also said Pfizer currently had more doses of its vaccine available than it was using.
The European Union said last week that it was doubling its supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the agreement would allow the EU to purchase an additional 300 million doses of its existing supply. The EU’s executive arm has already been criticized for not buying more of the vaccine.