Pfizer will temporarily reduce its deliveries to Europe of its vaccine against Covod-19 while it upgrades its production capacity, the company and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) said today.
"We received this message today a little before 10am (9am Irish time). We had expected 43,875 vaccines doses from Pfizer in week 3 (next week). Now it appears that we will get 36,075 doses," the FHI said in a statement.
The reduction in deliveries is due to Pfizer limiting output so that it can upgrade production capacity to 2 billion vaccine doses per year from 1.3 billion currently, the FHI said.
"This temporary reduction will affect all European countries," said the FHI. "It is as yet not precisely clear how long time it will take before Pfizer is up to maximum production capacity again."
Pfizer said it had to make modifications to the process and facility that will require additional regulatory approvals.
"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 in a statement.
Many EU nations say they are receiving lower-than-expected supplies of Covid-19 vaccines and complain of uncertainty over future deliveries, EU officials told Reuters.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkard has said it is yet unclear how Pfizer's decision will impact the number of doses being sent to Ireland.
In addition to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the Moderna shot is also expected to be roll-out in the Republic in the coming days after it secured approval from the EMA on January 6th.
The Eu regulator has also said it is hopeful that the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine will also be approved by the end of January.
