At the height of the corona pandemic, the EU ordered as much of the successful vaccine from manufacturer Pfizer and developer BioNTech as possible. But several EU countries now want to avoid this. The coronavirus no longer paralyzes society and only vulnerable people are still vaccinated. There is a surplus of vaccines and some have to be thrown away.
The EU wants to receive fewer vaccines, but still be able to claim new deliveries if, for example, a dangerous new virus variant emerges. The contract with Pfizer has now been adjusted accordingly, says the European Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of the union.
Part of the orders are converted into options, says the committee. The EU countries will also have longer to discuss these options. Pfizer does charge something for these adjustments, write the international news agencies Reuters and Bloomberg.