Pfizer and BioNTech reach a deal with EU to change covid vaccine contract

The original contract was signed in May 2021 and committed the EU to buy 900 million doses from Pfizer/BioNTech, with an option for an additional 900 million by the end of 2023

The amended contract matches "evolving needs", said EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides in a statement. Picture: Andy Gibson.

The EU and drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech have said they had reached a deal to amend a covid-19 vaccine contract, cutting the number the EU must buy and pushing the delivery deadline to 2026.

The agreement comes after months of talks and amid pressure on Brussels from EU governments to secure a change to the contract because of a global glut of covid-19 vaccine doses and low demand for boosters. Some European governments have destroyed doses.