EU doubles coronavirus vaccine deal with Pfizer-BioNTech to 600 mln doses

The European Union reached a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for 300 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, doubling the amount
of doses from these producers, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.

"The European Commission today proposed to the EU Member States to purchase an additional 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by BioNTech and Pfizer, with the option to acquire another 100 million doses," it said in a statement.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app

"This would enable the EU to purchase up to 600 million doses of this vaccine, which is already being used across the EU," the statement said.

Von der Leyen said 75 million of the additional doses would be delivered in the second quarter of this year.