EU agrees potential 1.8 billion-dose purchase of Pfizer vaccine

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (John Thys/Pool/AP)

The European Union has cemented its support for Pfizer/BioNTech and its novel Covid-19 vaccine technology by agreeing to a massive contract extension for a potential 1.8 billion doses until 2023.

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that her office “has just approved a contract for a guaranteed 900 million doses (+900 million options)”.