On Dec. 18, 2020, Moderna announced that the European Commission (EC) had exercised its option to purchase an additional 80 million doses of mRNA-1273, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, bringing its confirmed order commitment to 160 million doses.

The first deliveries of mRNA-1273 to European countries from Moderna’s dedicated European supply chain were expected to commence early in 2021 following regulatory approval by the EMA.