The European Commission has secured up to 4.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines. As of August 2023, a total of 84.8% of the EU adult population has been vaccinated at least once against the virus. The Commission is supporting Member States in securing access to vaccines to protect individuals, in particular those at risk of progression to severe disease.
Efforts have also been made to identify and monitor spread of new virus variants. This has been done to assess threats and allow to rapidly develop and produce effective vaccines and medicines against these on a large scale when necessary as done with adapted vaccine for omicron. Since end 2021, this role is performed by the European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) which also continues to help Member States have access to COVID-19 vaccines they need, either via existing contracts, where possible, or through new joint procurement arrangements should there be a need.
The EU committed to ensuring that safe vaccines reach all corners of the world. The Commission and EU countries pledged over €5 billion to COVAX, the global initiative aimed at ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and supporting vaccination campaigns in partner countries, to make available 1.8 billion doses of vaccines for 92 low and middle-income countries.
Highlight
30 March 2023 – The Commission granted a marketing authorisation as a booster dose for the protein-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by HIPRA, the eighth COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU. The authorisation follows a positive scientific recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) based on a thorough assessment of the safety, effectiveness, and quality of the vaccine, and is endorsed by the EU Member States.
Securing safe and effective vaccines
In line with the Vaccines Strategy proposal of June 2020, the European Commission negotiated intensely to build a diversified portfolio of vaccines for EU citizens at fair prices. Contracts were concluded with 8 promising vaccine developers, securing a portfolio of up to 4.2 billion doses.
Deliveries of vaccine doses to European Union countries increased steadily after December 2020.
By the summer of 2023, roughly 84.8 % of the EU’s adult population had received primary vaccination (one or two doses) against COVID-19. The Commission also negotiated three additional contracts with pharmaceutical companies to secure more COVID-19 vaccines – for young people, for the EU’s international partners, for booster shots and to guard against new variants. In September 2022, it authorised two adapted booster vaccines.
Effective and broad vaccination was the best strategy to overcome the pandemic. Based on evidence from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, all vaccines authorised in the EU were highly protective against hospitalisation, severe disease and death, with an effectiveness in the general population of over 80%.
There was a clear link between the level of vaccination and hospitalisation and death rates: the higher the vaccination rate, the lower the risk of being hospitalised or dying.
Increasing vaccination rates of all eligible groups, particularly of the elderly, the vulnerable and healthcare workers across the EU, was therefore the first priority to control the spread of COVID-19.
Evidence showed booster doses offered a significant increase in protection against infection and severe diseases. In July 2022, in view of the resurgence of COVID-19 infections, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency recommended a second booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines for people between 60 and 79 years old and people with medical conditions putting them at high risk of severe disease.
While the WHO announced on 5 May 2023 that the pandemic no longer constitutes a global health emergency, the EU remains vigilant and continues to ensure vaccination of the vulnerable.
To secure enough doses, the Commission also worked closely with the industry to step up vaccine manufacturing capacity in the EU. At the same time, the Commission started work to anticipate and tackle new variants of the virus and to rapidly develop and produce vaccines effective against those variants on a large-scale, launching HERA, the European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority. HERA anticipates threats and potential health crises, through intelligence gathering and building the necessary response capacities to enable rapid response to health emergencies.
EU’s vaccine portfolio
The Commission has so far given eight conditional marketing authorisations for the vaccines developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Novavax, Valneva, Sanofi and GSK and HIPRA respectively, following the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) positive assessment of their safety and efficacy. Several other vaccines are at different stages of assessment by the EMA.
| Company | Type of vaccine | Number of doses (needed per person) | Number of doses (secured) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BioNTech and Pfizer | mRNA | 2 doses | 2.4 billion* | Approved |
| Moderna | mRNA | 2 doses | 460 million | Approved |
| AstraZeneca | adenovirus | 2 doses | 400 million | Approved |
| Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Pharmaceuticals | adenovirus | 1 dose | 400 million | Approved |
| Sanofi-GSK | protein | 2 doses | 300 million | Approved |
| HIPRA Human Health | protein | 1 dose | 250 million | Approved |
| Novavax | protein | 2 doses | 200 million** | Approved |
| Valneva | inactivated virus vaccine | 1.2 million | Approved |
*option to purchase 900 million doses, **option to purchase 100 million doses
Safety reports
The European Medicines Agency publishes safety updates for the COVID-19 vaccines authorised in the EU. EMA releases a monthly update for each authorised COVID-19 vaccine.
The safety updates summarise the data that have become available since the vaccine's authorisation. They also indicate whether any safety information requires further investigation.
For more information, visit the EMA webpage.
Check the facts
Disinformation on the coronavirus is thriving. It is important that you get updated information from authoritative sources only. We suggest that you follow the advice of your public health authorities, and the websites of relevant EU and international organisations: the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC ) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
You can also help by not sharing unverified information that comes from dubious sources.
The EU vaccine strategy
With the EU Vaccines Strategy, the EU is supporting efforts to accelerate the development and availability of safe and effective vaccines in a timeframe of less than one year for most vaccines.
The Commission entered into advanced purchase agreements with individual vaccine producers on behalf of the Member States, and secured more than 4.2 billion doses of vaccines for European citizens and for countries around the world where vaccines are less available.
