Ritik Gupta
Pfizer Denmark’s spokeswoman substantiated on Friday that for the company to attain its two billion doses target for the year, installations at its plant in Puurs, Belgium, must be arranged, needing “new quality tests and approvals from the authorities.”
Health ministers from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden jotted down in a joint letter to the European Commission following the proclamation that “this situation is unacceptable. Not only does it impact the planned vaccination schedules, but it also decreases the credibility of the vaccination process.”
They are calling on the bloc’s health commissioner to burden to Pfizer “the need to ensure stability and transparency of timely deliveries”.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FIH) said in a statement that “this means that in week 3 we will receive 7,800 fewer doses than Pfizer had previously reported.”
In a statement on Friday, the drug company asserted shipments were being influenced by modifications to its manufacturing procedures planned to increase production.
“Although this will temporarily impact shipments in late January to early February, it will provide a significant increase in doses available for patients in late February and March,” Pfizer said.
The company said its production upgrades would also have a “short-term impact” on delivering vaccines to the UK.
The EU is not entirely reliant on the Pfizer jab either, having approved of a vaccine manufactured by US company Moderna for usage. Still, the advancement is anticipated to hamper the momentum of vaccination programs.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Pfizer‘s chief executive had ensured her that all orders guaranteed for delivery in the first quarter of the year would come.
