Only a portion of the European Union population can be vaccinated with Covid-19 until 2022 if an effective vaccine is available, EU officials said.
The warning was issued even after 27 countries, with a population of 450 million from the union had booked more than 1 billion potential Covid-19 vaccine doses from three vaccine makers. It is currently considering the purchase of another 1 billion doses with other companies.
A European Commission official told diplomats from EU countries at a closed-door meeting on Monday that there would not be enough doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for the entire population before the end of 2021.
The EU Commission has previously said that vaccines are limited in the early stages of distribution. To date, there has been no effective vaccine, but it is expected to be available early next year.
Following the issue of lack of supply, the Commission has urged the EU government to devise a vaccination plan that will prioritize key groups such as health workers, the elderly and people with chronic diseases.
In July an agreement was reached by the EU Commission and government saying at least 40% of the EU population should be vaccinated in the first phase.
Some EU countries want to order vaccines for their entire population with the aim of launching them in mid-2021.
The EU has so far obtained potential vaccines developed by AstraZeneca, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson. It also says that it is in talks with Moderna, Pfizer and CureVac.
