Vaccine manufacturers in the EU are expected to produce 3,6 billion coronavirus vaccines next year, out of a total production of more than 20 billion. as two senior EU officials said today.
EU countries provide booster doses of the vaccine having completed the first two doses in almost 70% of the EU population, while in Africa only 7% have been immunized against the coronavirus, according to EU data.
"We will produce in Europe much more than we need" said the EU official in a press conference and added that the administration of booster doses to the bloc does not conflict with the goal of vaccinating the world population because the EU produces more than it needs.
The official, however, did not mention the quantities that each company will prepare.
The largest manufacturers of vaccines in Europe so far are Pfizer Inc and BioNTech.
Other manufacturers of unit vaccines in the EU include AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
Novavax also has production capabilities in the EU and is expected to launch vaccine deliveries in Europe soon.
A second official said that the EU estimates that in 2022 global production of vaccines against COVID-19 will exceed 20 billion doses citing the growing capacity of Chinese and Russian vaccine manufacturers.
RES-EAP