AstraZeneca says it is increasing COVID-19 vaccine production to 2 million a week, as government rollouts miss their targets

• Drugmaker AstraZeneca has reportedly vowed to increase its production to 2 million shots per week by mid-January, even as government vaccine rollouts fall short of expectations. 
• “The plan is then to build it up fairly rapidly – by the third week of January we should get to two million a week,” an unnamed AstraZeneca staffer told The Times. 
• Hospitals and clinics in the US took a “more measured” approach than expected as they began distributing the vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Drugmaker AstraZeneca has reportedly vowed to increase its production to 2 million shots per week by mid-January, even as government vaccine rollouts fall short of expectations. 

“The plan is then to build it up fairly rapidly – by the third week of January we should get to two million a week,” an unnamed AstraZeneca staffer told The Times. 

That would double current production.

Even as vaccine production speeds up, governments around the world have had difficultly keeping their promised rollout plans. Far fewer people than expected received the vaccine by the end of last year.

By year’s end, only about 2.8 million shots were distributed in the US, a fraction of the expected 20 million, as hospitals and clinics took a “more measured” approach to distributing vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Many jurisdictions planned for a more measured start to vaccinations, and I'm excited that 2.5 million people have initiated vaccine and are on the way to getting protected," said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, in a press briefing. 

She added: "I really expect that those numbers are going to increase fast next week."

In the UK, officials said Pfizer's vaccine, which requires two shots, would be given 12 weeks apart, instead of the expected 21 days, according to BBC News.

The number of vaccine doses promised in 2021 are staggering and ever-growing.

Pfizer, with partner BioNTech, said last week it would supply an additional 100 million doses to the European Union this year, bringing its total to 300 million. 

That brings its total expected 2021 production to 1.3 billion vials of Comirnaty, the name it's given its COVID-19 vaccine. 

"We remain committed to moving as quickly and safely as possible to bring this vaccine to more people in Europe, as the deadly virus continues to spread at an alarming rate," said Albert Bourla, chair and CEO of Pfizer, in a statement. 

AstraZeneca's reported increase to 2 million doses per week would be welcome news for the UK, which has contracts for 100 million doses. 

About 530,000 AstraZeneca doses will be available on Monday, with an additional 407,000 doses expected to be added soon, according to Channel 4 News. Early last year, the UK government promised 30 million doses by September. 

AstraZeneca didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. 

Like Pfizer's drug, AstraZeneca's also requires two shots. Officials in the UK on New Year's Eve said the two were interchangeable, but some health professionals have said mixing the two may be risky.