BRUSSELS – Seeking to rebound from heavy criticism of its slow coronavirus vaccine rollout, the European Union said Monday that 18.5 million vaccine doses have been dispatched across the 27-nation bloc amid delays and disputes in the delivery schedule.
Speaking at a press conference, the EU Executive Commission’s health policy spokesman, Stefan de Keersmaecker, said 17.6 million of the doses have been provided by Pfizer-BioNTech, with the remainder delivered by Moderna.
The EU, which has 450 million people, has signed deals for six different vaccines and invested 2.7 billion euros ($3.8 billion) in vaccine development as part of an “advanced purchase agreement” with drugmakers.