France Expects 140,000 Fewer Vaccine Doses This Week as Pfizer Cuts Back Supplies

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - France expects to receive 140,000 doses less of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine this week, after the slowdown in vaccine deliveries to European countries, announced by the pharmaceutical company, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, the minister delegate in charge of the industry for the economy minister, told CNEWS on Monday.

"The delivery schedule predicts a decline of 140,000 doses this week," Pannier-Runacher said.

She added that the deliveries of the vaccine doses will "pick up the pace" on January 25, a day also confirmed by Pfizer and BioNTech pharmaceutical companies to get back to the original deliveries schedule.

Last week, the US drug manufacturer jointly with Germany's BioNTech drugmaker said they would reduce their vaccine shipments to the EU member states for several weeks due to planned modifications on a production site in Belgium to boost production capacity starting mid-February.

The decision drew condemnation from several European countries.

The campaign to immunize the French population began in the country on December 27. In early January, the authorities also authorized the use of a vaccine produced by the US company, Moderna, in addition to using a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine candidate.

By the end of this month, the government expects to vaccinate about a million citizens.

As of Monday, France has confirmed nearly 2,970,000 COVID-19 infections with the death toll at 70,422.