Good news.
Pfizer and BioNTech have said they will increase their deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines to the European Union, vowing to send as many as 75 million extra doses of the vaccine to the EU in the second quarter of this year.
Ireland is expected to receive around 750,000 additional doses as a result.
“Pfizer and BioNTech continue to work toward increased deliveries beginning the week of 15, ensuring we will supply the full quantity of vaccine doses in the first quarter we contractually committed to and up to an additional 75 million doses to the European Union in the second quarter,” a statement from the duo said.
In total, Pfizer and BioNTech plan to manufacture 2 billion doses of the vaccine by the conclusion of 2021 for the EU, which is an increase on the initially planned 1.3 billion.
The companies said improvements to their production facilities meant they would be able to boost their vaccine output.
Pfizer has also announced agreements with fellow pharmaceutical firms Sanofi and Novartis this week which will see its rivals produce vaccine doses on its behalf.
The announcement comes on the back of news that AstraZeneca would provide an additional nine million doses of its vaccine to the EU this quarter.
The EU has come under pressure in recent weeks for the pace of its vaccine rollout which has lagged behind the UK and the US.
The latest HSE Covid-19 vaccination figures in Ireland show that 150,500 first doses have been administered up to the last day of January.
49,300 second doses have been administered, bringing the total number of doses given to 199,800.
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