Pfizer offices in Puurs, Belgium
by Maggie Fick
LONDON (Portal) – The European Commission has tasked pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, with maintaining capacity to produce up to 325 million vaccines a year in the event of a future global health emergency, a source told Portal.
The deal will be announced around 11:00 GMT in Brussels, the source said. It affects mRNA, vector and protein vaccines, but not existing agreements for COVID-19 vaccines between the EU and vaccine manufacturers, including Pfizer.
The commission declined to comment. Pfizer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments and manufacturers to keep up to 20% of tests, vaccines or treatments with the global agency for distribution to poorer countries to prevent a “catastrophic failure” of the COVID-19 outbreak. Pandemic is coming This could happen again, according to a draft global deal on pandemics currently under discussion.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick, with the help of Jennifer Rigby in London; French version Nathan Vifflin, editing by Blandine Hénault)