European Union Set To Purchase 100M More Doses Of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took to Twitter to announce Tuesday that the European Union will purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Pfizer PFE-BioNTech BNTX coronavirus vaccine. 

This purchase brings the total doses ordered by the European Union to 300 million, with more expected to follow shortly.

The long-awaited vaccine began rolling out last week, but nations accross the European Union are struggling with shortages.

Due to a lack of supply of the vaccine, the European Union has been asked by country leaders and medical experts to approve taking an additional dose from each vial of the vaccine.

The European Union has only guaranteed five doses of the vaccine per vial; experts believe that six can be taken, according to CNBC.