The European Commission has decided to prepare for phase two of the strategy to get out of the coronavirus pandemic, launching the procedures for the purchase of an additional 1.8 billion doses of next-generation vaccines. “As the EU we must be ready for the next phases of the pandemic in 2022 and beyond,” a spokesman for the Commission said yesterday, confirming rumors about the intention to conclude contracts for “nearly two billion doses” of vaccines with messenger RNA technology. “We have to prepare for challenges such as the need for a booster, current and future variants or vaccinating children and adolescents,” the Commission spokesman explained. The contract is expected to involve 900 million initial doses, plus another 900 as an option, sufficient to vaccinate all 450 million European citizens in 2022 and 2023.
The candidate pharmaceutical companies are basically three, those that use mRna technology: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, whose vaccines have already received the green light from the EMA and are administered by the member states, but also CureVac which is in the rolling review phase. and should receive the green light between late May and early June. Farewell to AstraZeneca with all its problems. The bulk of the doses should come from Pfizer-BioNTech, whose vaccine is considered by the EU as “made in Europe”, thanks to the patent of the German BioNTech and to the production plants in Belgium and Germany that are supplying half the world. The cost will be slightly higher than the current EU contract. “Pfizer was 12 euros, then it became 15.50. Now contracts are being signed for 900 million vaccines at a price of 19.50 euros ”, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov revealed Sunday. The overall figure (35 billion for 1.8 billion doses) is the best investment the EU can make for its future.