Spain signs up to centralised purchasing of Astrazeneca vaccine from European Commission

The European Commission (EC) has been negotiating in recent weeks for the centralised purchasing of the Astrazeneca vaccine, developed by researchers from Oxford University. This vaccine is one of the most advanced alternatives, and clinical trials are already underway to guarantee its safety and efficacy.

Spain, together with other Member States, has signed up to purchasing this vaccine. The distribution will be carried out fairly among countries, according to population size. Aside from this initial agreement, the EC's negotiating committee is in talks with the different companies that are developing alternative vaccines to satisfy the vaccination needs of the European Union and of third countries.

Two of these negotiations are already at a very advanced stage and the companies expect to make an official proposal in the near future. All of these negotiations are framed within the European Vaccines Strategy, which Spain signed up to in July, based on establishing a sole European position that guarantees global and fair access to vaccines to protect the population as a whole.

With this aim in mind, the European Alliance is focused on supporting the bio-technological industry to speed up the term to achieve a safe and effective vaccine, increase production capacity and thus guarantee sufficient doses for the European population.

Non official translation