Brussels, 2 June 2022
The Commission and the vaccine developer Moderna have reached an agreement to ensure that the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines is adapted to the needs of Member States.
On the basis of this agreement, the company will postpone the delivery of some doses initially planned for the second quarter of 2022, to later in the year. In addition, should an adapted vaccine receive an EU marketing authorisation following the assessment of the European Medicines Agency, a part of the doses scheduled for April, May and June may be delivered as booster vaccines adapted to the current COVID-19 variants from September and during the autumn and winter months of 2022.
The agreement will also allow the delivery of vaccines adapted to future variants, after approval by the European Medicines Agency, so that Member States can respond to any epidemiological developments later this year and continue to support partner countries globally.
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said:
“This is the second agreement with vaccine manufacturers to optimise supply arrangements and align them with current demand levels in our Member States. I very much welcome today’s agreement on more flexible delivery arrangements for the Moderna vaccine to respond to our Member States’ needs. We continue to closely monitor the situation and stand ready to provide further support to Member States national vaccination campaigns.”
This amendment is part of an ongoing process whereby the Commission and Member States are working closely with the EU’s vaccine suppliers to address the evolving pandemic needs. The Commission intends to finalise further such agreements in the near future. In 2020, the European Union invested heavily in the global production of a number of COVID-19 vaccines. It was crucial to have vaccines as early as possible and at the scale needed, requiring important investments before knowing whether any of these vaccines would prove successful. In cooperation with the manufacturers, the Commission continues to facilitate further exchanges of doses between Member States to better address their needs, especially for the autumn and winter season.
Source – EU Commission: press release.