COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – US pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed on Friday that it will temporarily reduce deliveries to Europe of its COVID-19 vaccine while increasing production capacity to 2 billion doses a year.
The head of the EU Commission said he immediately called the CEO of Pfizer. But in an indication, the problem could go beyond Europe, the Canadian government said it was also affected.
Line Fedders, a spokesman for Pfizer Denmark, said that to achieve the new target of two billion doses, Pfizer increases production at its plant in Puurs, Belgium, which “presupposes the adaptation of the facilities and factory processes that require new quality testing and approval from the authorities “.
“As a result, there will be fewer doses available for European countries in late January and early February,” he said.
“This temporary reduction will affect all European countries,” he said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The German Ministry of Health said on Friday Pfizer had informed the European Commission, which was in charge of ordering vaccines from the company, that it would not be able to meet all the promised deliveries in the next three or four weeks.
The ministry said German officials took note of the Commission’s unexpected announcement “with regret” because the company had made mandatory delivery commitments in mid-February.
“The federal and state governments expect the EU Commission to provide clarity and certainty as soon as possible in negotiations with Pfizer on other deliveries and delivery dates,” the statement said.
The Commission sealed the vaccine agreements on behalf of the 27 member states, but is not responsible for timing and deliveries.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she “immediately called the CEO of Pfizer”.
“He assured me that all guaranteed doses for the first trimester will be delivered in the first trimester. Personally, he is dedicated to reducing the delay period and making sure they recover as soon as possible,” von der Leyen said.
Earlier on Friday, the Commission’s health policy spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker said deliveries were made on the basis of purchase orders and specific contracts being concluded between member states and companies.
“The specifics of these agreements are defined in these purchase orders or contracts,” he said.
The Commission has secured up to 600 million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine produced in collaboration with German BioNTech.
The Belgian Pfizer plant supplies all features delivered outside the United States, including Canada, where purchasing minister Anita Anand said Friday that the US drug maker is temporarily reducing deliveries due to problems with its lines. of European production. Although the company said it could still administer four million doses by the end of March, this is no longer guaranteed, he said.
Canadian officials said the reduction means shipments of vaccines from Canada will be halved over the next month.
The country has received only 380,000 doses of vaccine so far and was supposed to get another 400,000 this month and expects almost two million doses in February.
Norwegian authorities also said on Friday that Pfizer had notified them of the reduction which will start next week as the company raises its annual dose target from the current 1.3 billion.
“We had predicted 43,875 doses of Pfizer vaccine in week 3. We now appear to be getting 36,075 doses,” said Geir Bukholm, director of infection control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
“The stock we have now will be able to offset a reduction in scheduled deliveries for a few weeks in advance if necessary,” he said.
In Finland, the YLE station said the delay would cause national delivery problems in late January and early February.
Danish officials expressed concern.
“We are in a race against coronavirus and the new most contagious virus variant,” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said. “So we take the decline in deliveries very seriously.”
Henrik Ullum, head of Statens Serum Institute, a government agency that maps the spread of coronavirus in Denmark, said he hoped the development would mean that “in the near future we will be able to vaccinate less than was first assumed.”
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Samuel Petrequin and Raf Casert collaborated in Brussels, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Rob Gillies in Toronto.