Portugal to get 6.9m, Sweden 6m doses of COVID-19 vaccines via EU

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Thursday hailed the purchase of 6.9 million doses of potential vaccines against COVID-19, saying that it was a "fundamental step" to "overcome the crisis," reported Xinhua

"Today is an important day. We can believe that it is within our reach... a vaccine developed by science and produced by industry, but properly marketed, distributed and accessible to the population," he said during a visit to a hospital in Vila Nova de Gaia, northern Portugal.

According to the prime minister, the "European Union (EU) coordinated a joint acquisition for the different countries," and on Thursday Portugal's Council of Ministers officially authorized the acquisition of the first lot.

"The EU selected six of the various vaccines that are under development worldwide as the six that were worth investing in," said Costa, revealing that Portugal will pay 20 million euros (23.67 million U.S. dollars).

The prime minister said that from the "optimistic" point of view, "at the end of this year there will be the first batches."

He showed caution, however, in stating that it is necessary to prepare for all possible scenarios, and that "until there is a general immunization of the population or treatment for this disease, we must be prepared for the worst."

Costa said that "the competent authorities" will be responsible for defining "the criteria to be followed by progressive, universal and free vaccination of the Portuguese population to ensure immunization."

Meanwhile, Sweden will be able to offer vaccines to between 3 to 6 million citizens following a deal between the European Union (EU) and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, in which the coronavirus vaccine will be distributed to member states according to their population size, a Swedish official said on Thursday.

The Swedish government decided on Thursday to take part in the EU program, which was announced earlier this month when the bloc secured a deal with AstraZeneca to buy at least 300 million doses of potential coronavirus vaccine, if it wins approval from regulators.

Swedish Minister for Health and Social Affairs Lena Hallengren said at a press conference on Thursday in Stockholm that the vaccine being developed "looks promising" and that clinical studies will have to determine whether one or two doses are needed for a complete protection.

That means that between three and six million Swedes could be vaccinated in the initial stage, where Sweden will get 6 million doses. The country, which has a population of 10 million, may also be able to purchase a further two million doses at a later stage, according to the government.

The country's Public Health Agency has been tasked with devising a plan for how to distribute the vaccine, which will likely go first to at-risk individuals and personnel within the health care sector.

"The exact details will be determined when we know what types of vaccines we are dealing with," Hallengren said.

Apart from AstraZeneca, the government is also, via the European Commission, in talks with Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson and Curevac.

"We don't know which vaccine is most effective. For instance, we know that it is difficult to achieve immunity among elderly people. It's important not to put all of one's eggs in one basket," said Sweden's vaccine coordinator Richard Bergstrom, at the press conference.

Explaining the negotiating process, Bergstrom said: "Within a couple of weeks, we'll have three deals to consider and after that a further three or four within one or two months. We are negotiating with everyone since we want to cover our backs. "

The COVID-19 death toll in Sweden hit 5,805 till Thursday. The total number of confirmed cases is now 85,810, statistics from the Swedish Public Health Agency statistics showed.