(Bloomberg) — The European Union said it reached a deal to expedite deliveries of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to countries like Germany that are experiencing temporary shortages as the continent tries to combat the omicron variant.
Moderna Inc. agreed to accelerate delivery of 10 million doses to Germany in December, enough for 20 million boosters, the European Commission announced in a press release. The company will deliver 25 million extra doses to Germany in the first quarter of 2022.
Germany started rationing Covid-19 vaccines through the rest of the year as it seeks to keep a booster campaign going despite a sudden shortage of BioNTech SE vaccines.
The country’s new health minister, Karl Lauterbach, said he’s in contact with Eastern European countries and is seeking to buy unused doses from them. He has also said he’s pursuing fresh supplies directly from vaccine manufacturers.
Germany has administered over 20 million Covid shots since it kicked off a booster campaign in mid-November, according to data from the RKI public-health institute. The goal through the end of the year is 30 million.
Lauterbach has said third shots are key for ending the current wave of the pandemic and heading off the risk posed by the new omicron strain. The country is also seeking to ramp up a program to inoculate children against Covid.
Germany’s overall vaccination campaign has been less successful than in many of its fellow EU members, with just 69.8% of the population fully inoculated as of Wednesday. That compares with almost 80% in France and nearly 75% in Italy, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.
EU leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday, where they’re discussing how to accelerate booster shots across the continent.
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