Merkel to Convene Crisis Talks Amid Chaotic EU Vaccine Rollout

German leader to consult with drugmakers, regional leaders
AstraZeneca will deliver more doses to EU, expand output

Covid Vaccine Production and Logistical Facilities at Serum Institute, the World's Largest Vaccine Maker — Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

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By Viktoria Dendrinou and Naomi Kresge

January 31, 2021 at 6:38 PM UTC

Updated on

February 1, 2021 at 7:27 AM UTC

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Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold crisis talks with pharmaceutical executives, regional German leaders and European Commission officials Monday in a bid to speed up the continent’s stuttering vaccination push.

The video call this afternoon in Berlin comes after Ursula von der Leyen, the commission president, announced that AstraZeneca Plc will deliver 9 million additional vaccine doses to the European Union in the first quarter. The EU has been locked in a bitter dispute with the drugmaker since AstraZeneca said it was reducing the number of shots delivered to the bloc due to production issues.