BioNTech-Pfizer revises Covid-19 vaccine contract with EU
The EU Commission announced that an agreement was reached as a result of the contract amendment negotiations with BioNTech-Pfizer for the purchase of Kovid-19 vaccines on behalf of 27 member countries.
In the statement, it was stated that the EU and the vaccine developer BioNTech-Pfizer agreed on the changes in the contract in line with the new needs.
In the statement, which stated that the amendment made to the current vaccine supply contract takes into account the improving epidemiological situation, it was noted that access to the vaccine will continue in case of the emergence of the Kovid-19 variants of concern in the future. In the statement, it was stated that with the amendment, the amount of vaccine dose to be received by the member countries in the current vaccine contract has decreased, and that the doses in the initial contract will be converted to optional doses for a certain fee. In the statement, it was stated that the period during which the member countries can receive the vaccines has also been extended, and it was stated that these doses can be supplied up to 4 years later.
EU countries were demanding changes in the Kovid-19 vaccine contracts signed by the Commission with manufacturers due to the decreasing demand for vaccines. In 2021, the EU signed the third contract with BioNTech-Pfizer for the purchase of 1.8 billion doses of Kovid-19 vaccine, with an option of 900 million doses until the end of 2023. Almost half of the 900 million doses in this contract were not delivered because there was no demand. In addition, the EU did not implement the additional call option in the contract.
With the contract change, the amount of dose the EU has committed to purchase is decreasing. However, the EU has to pay a fee for each canceled dose. The price of the vaccines in question and the amount to be paid for cancellation are not shared.
The EU Commission had procured high amounts of vaccines from some drug and vaccine manufacturers in the fight against the Kovid-19 epidemic. The commission made its heaviest contract for the supply of Kovid-19 vaccine with Pfizer-BioNTech.
