Pfizer will deliver an additional 75 million vaccines to the EU in the second quarter | Society

Pfizer and BioNTech plan to produce 2 billion doses of their coronavirus vaccine, the first to be approved for use in the European Union, instead of the 1,300 originally planned for this year, as announced by German company BioNTech in a review hours. meeting between the German government and the producers of the vaccines. The works to improve production at the factory in Puurs (Belgium), which supplies all of Europe, have been completed, so that the companies are now able to deliver the doses to the Union according to the planned schedule. In mid-January, Pfizer announced a temporary reduction in the rate of production to carry out these works, causing states to receive fewer doses than planned.

With the improvement, BioNTech ensures that the agreed amounts for the first quarter of the year are met and that it can deliver an additional 75 million punctures to the EU in the second quarter. The statement does not specify what those amounts are and at the request of EL PAÍS the company has not clarified them. “We will deliver all doses for the first quarter to which we have committed and up to 75 million additional doses for the European Union in the second quarter,” said Sierk Poetting, the company’s chief financial officer. Spain equates to just over 10%, depending on the population. The EU contract with the consortium has not been disclosed and the timing of the arrival of the doses is unknown. In addition, the wording of the statement is confusing. Therefore, it is not known by how much this “additional” 75 million increases the initial capacity to immunize the European population in the second quarter, nor is it clear whether those 75 million doses are “additional” to the first quarter doses or ” additional doses “. To those who have committed themselves to the second. The only data known is that BioNTech and Pfizer will deliver a total of 600 million doses by 2021.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pointed out on her Twitter account the arrival of the 75 million additional doses, something that had, in fact, been advanced during an intervention on January 8. The community leader, who is highly criticized for tackling vaccination problems, is longing for good news about the arrival of new doses. BioNTech ensures that the 75 million punctures will be delivered under the new contract announced in Brussels in January, which, according to a spokeswoman for the German biotechnology company, “is currently under negotiation with the Commission”.

In addition to the adaptation of the production processes at the factory in Puurs, BioNTech emphasizes that it will be able to produce more doses thanks to the fact that its factory in Marburg (Germany) has already received the production license and can start production in February, so that the European Medicines Agency can validate the process. “Our European production network is constantly expanding,” the company adds. In December, when the vaccine received initial authorizations from Pfizer and BioNTech, it had only three partners, while it already has 13. The company ensures that it continues to strengthen that network and that it is in talks to make new agreements.

Last week, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced it will support Pfizer and BioNTech in manufacturing its vaccine. The partners signed a first agreement to provide more production capacity, which will be realized in the second quarter, when the final agreement is signed. The immunization doses will be manufactured at the Stein plant in Switzerland.

Bayer confirmed on Monday that it will produce the vaccine that will be developed by German company CureVac from 2022. “I am pleased to announce that we have the necessary capacity to produce the CureVac vaccine based on mRNA,” said Stefan Oelrich, Bayer’s pharmaceutical industry chief, at a virtual press conference Monday. The company plans to produce 160 million doses in the first year.

These announcements come after a very slow start to vaccination in Europe, with the three vaccine manufacturers delaying shipments to the EU, and criticism of the European Commission for failing to properly fulfill orders to pharmaceutical companies. The lack of vaccines has paralyzed the campaign in cities like Madrid, Paris or Lisbon and is putting pressure on Brussels, which defends that vaccination coverage will recover in March.

This Monday afternoon, the German government and the leaders of the federal states will meet via video conference to analyze the development of the vaccination campaign. Representatives from pharmaceutical companies that distribute covid-19 vaccines in Europe and with which the EU has signed advance purchase agreements will participate in the meeting. The Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, recognized the newspaper image that he does not believe that the meeting will result in any concrete agreement.

Germany has given the first dose of Pfizer and BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to 1.9 million people (2.2% of the population), of whom 461,701 have also received the second dose, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute. The country administers about 100,000 vaccines every day.

The latest data shows that Germany has recorded 5,608 new cases of coronavirus and 175 deaths from the disease in the last 24 hours. These numbers are typically lower on Mondays due to the delay in reporting and fewer tests are performed on weekends. Compared to the Monday before, when 6,729 infections were registered, the figure is lower, in line with the decrease observed in the past two weeks. The cumulative incidence, measured weekly in Germany, is 91 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. The country maintains harsh confinement, although not a home (hotels, leisure, culture, non-essential trade, and closed schools), from mid-December, which will last at least until February 14.

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