In a stinging reprimand to pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, the European Union announced plans on Wednesday to negotiate a massive contract extension for Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, which insisted the 27-nation bloc had to work with companies that had shown their worth in the pandemic.
“We have to concentrate on technologies that have proven themselves,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She also announced that America’s Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech would provide the EU with an additional 50 million dozens in the 2nd quarter of this year to make up for AstraZeneca’s stalled shipments.
In contrast to the often criticized Anglo-Swedish company, von der Leyen said that Pfizer-BioNTech had proven to be a reliable partner. It has fulfilled its obligations and is responsive to our needs. This is for the immediate benefit of EU citizens. ”
Denmark exacerbated problems for AstraZeneca and decided on Wednesday not to resume use of its vaccine after it was on hold last month after reports of rare blood clots in some recipients. Most of the recordings made so far in the Scandinavian country were the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson jab, which uses the same base technology as AstraZeneca, got a hook this week when US regulators recommended a “break” in managing Johnson & Johnson shots.
Deliveries to the EU have been suspended.
AstraZeneca should be the workhorse of the EU vaccine campaign this year – a cheap and easy-to-carry shot to break the back of the pandemic. However, the EU announced that of the 120 million doses promised for the first quarter, only 30 million had been dispensed and of the expected 180 million only 70 million were earmarked for dispensing in the second quarter.
Because of this shortage, the EU has come under pressure because, despite being a major manufacturer and exporter of vaccines, it cannot even get its vaccinations anywhere near the levels of the UK and the United States.
According to the Our World in Data website, 47.5% of people in the UK have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 36.6% in the US and 16.4% in the EU.
Now Pfizer-BioNTech could be the key to defeating the pandemic on the continent.
With 200 million doses that Pfizer-BioNTech has already earmarked for the block this quarter. The 50 million additional shipments are particularly welcomed by EU countries as there are delivery delays and concerns about rare blood clots that may be related to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Von der Leyen said the EU would start negotiations to purchase 1.8 billion doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine by 2023.
“It will mean that not only the manufacture of the vaccines, but also all of the essential components will be located in the EU,” said von der Leyen.
The European Commission currently has a portfolio of 2.3 billion cans from half a dozen companies and is negotiating additional contracts.
Von der Leyen was fully confident in the technology of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, which is different from that of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
The active ingredient in the Pfizer BioNTech shot is messenger RNA, or mRNA, which contains the instructions for human cells to construct a harmless piece of the coronavirus called a spike protein. The human immune system recognizes the spike protein as foreign and can thus trigger a reaction against the virus in the event of an infection.
Astra Zeneca’s is made with a cold virus that uses the spike protein gene to creep into the body. It’s a completely different form of production: living cells in huge bioreactors breed the cold virus, which is extracted and purified.
Von der Leyen said Europe needs technology that can boost immunity, tackle new variants, and produce shots quickly and massively. “mRNA vaccines are a clear example of this,” she said. The planned negotiations with Pfizer left in the middle what the EU would do with new contracts with AstraZeneca. “Further contracts with other companies could follow,” said von der Leyen.
