The European Commission mentioned on Friday it had reached a deal with the British Pharma company AstraZeneca for the buying of around 300 million doses of the probable coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine.
The executive arm of the EU that is negotiating on behalf of the 27 EU states, mentioned that the deal included an option for purchasing 100 million additional doses should the vaccine prove effective and safe.
EU Reached a Deal With AstraZeneca
The agreement marks the EU's first advance purchase deal for a potential vaccine against the new coronavirus. "Today, after weeks of negotiations, we have the first EU Advance Purchase Agreement for a vaccine candidate," EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a statement.
It follows an initial deal with AstraZeneca reached in June by Europe's Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA), a group formed by France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands to secure vaccine doses for all member states. The Commission did not disclose the terms of the new deal nor say whether conditions agreed earlier had been modified.
(With agency inputs)
