Gov't Secured 50mn Vaccine Doses Despite EU Plan For No Bilateral Deals

Reuters reporting that, according to a document from the German health ministry and an official speaking on condition of anonymity, the German gov't last summer made deals with pharma companies CureVac and BioNTech to secure 50mn doses of any COVID-19 vaccine they eventually produced. Health Minister Jens Spahn

• In mitigating circumstances for the German gov't, the doses would be on top of supplies for the EU, the contracts have not been signed yet, and delivery of the doses would only be made once the EU contract was fulfilled.
• Nevertheless, if the document is accurate it would show that Germany circumvented the stated intention of EU leaders that only the EU institutions would engage in the procurement of vaccines within the bloc, with no bilateral deals between member states and pharma companies, to avoid competition for doses between different member states.
• Earlier today in a press conference, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that "No member state is allowed to negotiate in parallel,", but as Reuters has reported since then the Commission has not commented on the German deals.