The European Commission says it has secured an agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech for an extra four million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for its 27 nations to tackle the surge of cases in several coronavirus clusters.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said 'this will help member states in their efforts to keep the spread of new variants under control. Through their targeted use where they are most needed, in particular in border regions, these doses will also help ensure or restore the free movement of goods and people'.
The European Union mentioned Tyrol in Austria, Nice and Moselle in France, Bolzano in Italy and some parts of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany where COVID-19 hospitalisations have been on the rise. The commission said the new doses will be made available to all member states on a pro-rata basis this month.
EU officials have been dismayed at how virus surges driven by variants have prompted EU nations to put in border restrictions.
Overall, the EU has six contracts for more than 2 billion doses of vaccines to inoculate its 450 million people.
