EU's von der Leyen says EU to receive 50 million more Pfizer shots in second quarter

FILE PHOTO: Doctor Oezge Kaya holds a pharmaceutical phial containing six doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a doctor's practice in Berlin, Germany, April 13, 2021. REUTERS/Alessia Cocca

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union countries will receive 50 million more COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer and BioNTech in the second quarter, the head of the EU Commission said on Wednesday, as deliveries expected at the end of the year will be brought forward.

Ursula von der Leyen said the earlier deliveries, which will start this month, will take total supplies to the EU from Pfizer to 250 million doses in the second quarter of this year.