Drugmakers to make big low-cost vaccine push to poor nations — EU official

Drugmakers are to announce on Friday they will provide large new supplies of at-cost Covid-19 vaccines to poor nations this year to try to redress the global imbalance, an EU official familiar with the matter said.

Coinciding with a global health summit hosted by Italy and the EU, the bloc will also announce it is setting up three manufacturing hubs in Africa from this year to boost long-term production of vaccines, the official told Reuters.

Among the drugmakers that will announce more doses for poorer nations is Pfizer-BioNTech, the official said, adding that at least other two companies are expected to make announcements on Friday.

Vaccines are to be sold at cost to poorer countries, and at low-cost to middle-income nations, the official said.