Nicole DeFeudis
Editor

The European Commission has made a few changes to its vaccine contract with Pfizer and BioNTech, reducing the dose volume while extending the delivery timeline to cope with “evolving public health needs.”

The Commission previously struck a contract in May 2021 for 900 million doses, with the option to purchase another 900 million. Of those, 450 million were expected to be delivered in 2023, though an amendment now calls for fewer doses. While neither the Commission nor Pfizer and BioNTech have revealed an exact amount, an unnamed source told Reuters that the amendment reduces the remaining expected doses by about a third.

Some member states have opted out of the amendment, and “will continue to be bound by current contractual obligations,” the Commission said.

The news comes weeks after the World Health Organization ended its three-year global health emergency for Covid-19, while warning that “the virus is here to stay.”

“The risk remains of new variants emerging that cause new surges in cases and deaths,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in remarks earlier this month. “While this Emergency Committee will now cease its work, it has sent a clear message that countries must not cease theirs.”

Vaccine uptake has slowed in the EU, with just 14.3% of people in member states having received a second booster and under 2% having received a third booster. Multiple European countries have reportedly made plans to destroy thousands of expired vaccine doses.

The EU will continue to have access to updated vaccines “as soon as authorised by the regulators,” the Commission said. The timeline for dose delivery has been extended through 2026, and an undisclosed fee will be paid to convert the originally contracted doses into optional doses.

“In the first year of their rollout, vaccines were estimated to have averted over 4 million COVID-19-related deaths in Europe and 6 million hospitalizations globally, saving hospital resources worth €56 billion,” Pfizer and BioNTech said in a joint news release on Friday. “The amended agreement reflects the companies’ commitment to working collaboratively to help address ongoing public health needs, while respecting the principles of the original agreement.”

Endpoints News has requested additional comment from the EC, Pfizer and BioNTech, and will update the story accordingly.