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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The European Union struck a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech to buy at least 200 million doses of their coronavirus vaccine in the largest initial order to date, the companies announced Wednesday.
Driving the news: Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced Monday that its coronavirus vaccine trial was effective in preventing COVID-19 infections in 90% of previously uninfected people and did not produce any serious safety concerns.
- The order is awaiting regulatory approval and deliveries are anticipated to begin by the end of this year.
- The EU will have the option to request an additional 100 million doses.
- The U.S. made an initial order of 100 million doses in July, with the option to buy 500 million more.
The big picture: The companies expect to produce up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
- They are exploring a possible supply to the COVAX Facility, a global initiative backed by the World Health Organization that will give governments early access to a portfolio of COVID-19 candidate vaccines.