The UK is set to face delays in the delivery of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine as the US pharmaceutical company upgrades its production capacity in Belgium.
Having ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, the government said that it’s still working to its plan of vaccinating all four priority groups by 15th February.
Pfizer is upscaling production at its plant in Puurs, Belgium to enable it toproduce more doses than originally planned for 2021.
This upgrade is expected to temporarily reducing deliveries to all European countries however it is understood only orders expected in the UK during January will be affected with the overall number of doses due to be delivered between January and March remaining the same.
A Pfizer spokesperson said: “We understand a change to deliveries has the potential to create uncertainty.
“We can confirm the overall projected volumes of delivery to the UK remain the same for quarter one (January to March).
“We continue to liaise with the UK Government and the Vaccines Taskforce to work through short-term impact of these changes to our January deliveries and support the goals of the UK Covid-19 vaccination programme.”
A government spokesperson said: “We are in the process of understanding the implications of Pfizer’s announcement today to our plans.
“We continue to plan to hit our target of vaccinating all four priority groups by February 15th.”
