Six doses of Covid-19 vaccine per vial instead of five: here is the announcement from the Pfizer laboratory which indicated that it would now adapt its deliveries on this basis.

Result: 100 million bottles delivered to Europe, instead of 120 million, for a number of doses in accordance with the order.

And a significant potential gain for the laboratory. 

The American laboratory Pfizer has indicated that deliveries to countries purchasing its Covid-19 vaccine will now be adjusted on the basis of six doses per vial, instead of the current five.

In concrete terms, Pfizer will reduce the delivery of bottles to European countries by 20%.

The latter have ordered 600 million doses, which will be delivered, assures the company, but with fewer containers: 100 million instead of the 120 million initially planned.

Significant potential gains for the American laboratory.

>> LIVE

- Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Friday January 22

1.5 billion euros in potential gains

The purchase price of a dose was estimated at 12 euros.

Thanks to this saving of 20 million bottles, the American laboratory can bet on a potential gain of one and a half billion euros.

>> Find Europe Midi in replay and podcast here

Pfizer assures however that the surplus bottles could be used in developing countries.

A clever argument, while the boss of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday castigated the "selfish" attitude of the rich countries which concentrate all the doses of vaccine to the detriment of the poorest countries.

However, nothing prevents the American laboratory Pfizer from reselling these bottles elsewhere to the highest bidders.

France wants to put pressure on deliveries 

Some European countries, like Italy, have recovered very well.

The peninsula is studying the possibility of a legal remedy.

For its part, according to information from Europe 1, France would rather opt for another strategy: put pressure on Pfizer to go faster in delivering doses, rather than attacking them head-on.

Especially since the laboratory is not at fault, since the contracts were signed in number of doses, explains an adviser to Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French Minister for Industry.

An argument that Pfizer made clear in its email announcing the delivery changes.

CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS

> What place for teleworking after the coronavirus?

> Are adolescents vectors of contamination?

> Advice from a psychotherapist to get through this period as well as possible

> How does "CleanCovid", the anti-coronavirus lamp work

> How will the citizens' committee responsible for monitoring vaccination work?

According to figures released Monday evening, France had received 1.6 million doses.

According to AFP, the Directorate General of Health had not yet reacted to this announcement on Thursday, but on Tuesday the Ministry of Health already indicated that the extraction of the 6th dose required "a medical gesture" and " material "appropriate in syringes, evoking" a real challenge ".