EU exported 77 mln COVID-19 vaccines since Dec - Commission

BRUSSELS, March 25 (Reuters) - The European Union exported
some 77 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 33 countries since
Dec 1, 2020, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der
Leyen briefed EU leaders at a summit on Thursday.

According to slides, showed to leaders by von der Leyen and
seen by Reuters, the 27 nation bloc has administered around 62
million doses out of the 88 million that vaccine makers supplied
for use in the EU. The document shows that 18.2 million EU
citizens, or 4.1% of the population, were now fully vaccinated
with two doses.

The number on exports is much bigger than the figure
released by the EU so far, which had been calculated since the
end of January, when the EU set up a mechanism to monitor
vaccine flows. Earlier figures are based on customs data,
officials had said. On Wednesday the Commission said it had
exported 43 million doses since late January.

The slides also showed that in the first quarter, the EU
estimates it will receive 66 million doses from BionTech/Pfizer
, 10 million from Moderna and 30 million from
AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca had committed in its contract with the EU to
providing 90 million shots in the first quarter, and another 30
million in December, the document shows.

In the second quarter, the EU expects 200 million doses from
BionTech-Pfizer, 35 million from Moderna, 70 from AstraZeneca
and 55 million from Johnson & Johnson.

AstraZeneca's contractual obligations were for 180 million
doses in the second quarter, the slides showed.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Francesco Guarascio)