EU pays 336 mln euros for doses of AstraZeneca's potential COVID-19 vaccine

The European Commission has paid 336 million euros ($396 million) to secure at least 300 million doses of the potential COVID-1 vaccine being developed by British drug maker AstraZeneca, a spokesman said on Thursday. Brussels signed the deal on behalf of EU states for the supply of at least 300 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. It has an option for a further 100 million, the spokesman said. “We cannot indicate at this stage the specific pricing per dose. However, a significant part of the overall costs are funded by a contribution from the overall ESI funding for vaccines,” he said, referring to the bloc’s so-called emergency support instrument.