Pfizer and BioNTech said they have reached an agreement to supply the European Union with another 200 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine.

The US and German companies said in a statement that the doses come on top of the 300 million initially ordered.

The EU's executive Commission has an option to request a further 100 million doses.
They said the 200 million doses are expected to be delivered this year, with an estimated 75 million of them in the second quarter.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first of three so far to be approved for use in the EU, which faces criticism for a slow start to its vaccination campaign.

The other two approved vaccines are from Moderna and AstraZeneca.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said: "With a portfolio of up to 2.6 billion doses, we will be able to provide vaccines not just to our citizens, but to our neighbours and partners as well."

Meanwhile, Pfizer and German partner BioNTech said on Wednesday that they had finalised an agreement to supply the European Union with another 200 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine.

Countries across Europe are struggling to speed up vaccine efforts amid signs that more infectious coronavirus variants are spreading unchecked across the continent.