U.S. pharmaceutical group Pfizer, partnered with Germany’s BioNTech laboratory, on Saturday announced a plan to limit to one week the delay in the delivery of their novel Coronavirus vaccine.
The news came amid fears in European countries that vaccine deliveries would be reduced for three to four weeks.
"Pfizer and BioNTech have developed a plan that will allow the scale-up of manufacturing capacities in Europe and deliver significantly more doses in the second quarter," the two firms said in a joint statement.
They said deliveries to the European Union would be back to the original schedule from the week of January 25, with increased delivery from the week of February 15. "To accomplish this, certain modifications of production processes are required now," they added.
Pfizer and BioNTech also indicated that their factory in Puurs, Belgium, "will experience a temporary reduction in the number of doses delivered in the upcoming week.”
Pfizer had unexpectedly announced on Friday that, until early February, it would not be able to supply EU countries with the weekly quantities of vaccines originally scheduled.
The Brussels Times
