MEPs ask COVID-19 vaccine companies to honor contracts for deliveries

BRUSSELS - European parliamentarians demanded on Thursday clarity on COVID-19 vaccine deliveries at a hearing with representatives from six leading pharmaceutical companies, and insisted that they honor their contracts.

MEPs quizzed the CEOs and representatives of AstraZeneca, Moderna, CureVac, Novavax, Pfizer and Sanofi, on how to remove obstacles to faster commercialization, manufacturing and distribution of vaccines, according to a press statement from the parliament.

"Today's challenge is about how to produce extremely complex products on a scale that is absolutely unprecedented. This is an industrial challenge," said Industry, Research and Energy Committee Chairman Cristian Busoi.

"We wanted to know where the production bottlenecks are and to have a clear picture about the industry's commitments and obligations. But we also want to help the industry deliver the doses, because our priority is to get vaccination done," added Busoi.

In line with the European Union's vaccination strategy, COVID-19 vaccines produced by BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have been authorized for use in the bloc.

Three additional contracts have been concluded and will allow vaccines to be purchased once they have proven to be safe and effective.

According to information released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday, 255 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 73 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States.