Several new vaccine plants have now been approved by the EMA, one of which is in the existing Halix plant in Leiden, the Netherlands, where the active substance in Astra Zeneca's covid vaccine is produced.

This is stated by EMA in a press release on Friday.

This means that the number of production facilities of the substance is now four.

The subcontractor Halix estimates that the production there monthly amounts to about five million doses.

"Very good news", states EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, who also said that she expects the Astra vaccine to be delivered to the EU countries as agreed in the coming days.

"We will get much more vaccine"

Pfizer / Biontech will also expand its production significantly after a completely new plant in Marburg, Germany, has been approved.

It produces both the active substance in the Comirnaty vaccine and the end product.

The first batches of vaccines manufactured at the factory are expected to be delivered in the second half of April, reports Reuters.

According to the government's vaccine coordinator, Pfizer will increase capacity by four times and Moderna by three times.

- All this means that we will get much more vaccines, says Bergström.

- It is actually the case that the European Commission, and thus also we as taxpayers, actually paid for at least Pfizer and Moderna's expansions.

And it was good that we made those investments because now we get a lot of vaccine doses until the summer and beyond.

Fewer doses in the near future

As for Astra Zeneca, Richard Bergström hopes that they can increase their deliveries to the EU.

- They are far below the contract we have.

So all this is very good news.

Despite the good news, the forecast for how many vaccine doses Sweden will receive during the first half of 2021 on Friday was written down once again.

And the vaccine target is thus becoming increasingly difficult to achieve.

- I get very upset, says Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren (S) about it.