EU open to Chinese, Russian COVID-19 vaccines: media

BRUSSELS -- The European Union (EU) is open to use COVID-19 vaccines from China and Russia, reported the Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday.

According to the report, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers during a meeting on Tuesday that vaccine producers from China and Russia "could get ... a conditional market authorization like the other ones" when they "open their books" and "show all the data."

Meanwhile, a commission spokesperson said one prerequisite for the EU's order for COVID-19 vaccines is that they can be produced inside the bloc, the AFP reported.

The vaccines approved so far by the EU are from US-Germany joint venture Pfizer-BioNTech, British-Swedish multinational AstraZeneca, and Moderna from the United States.

Europe is now facing a vaccine shortage as pharmacies including AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech are supplying vaccines less than anticipated, drawing public criticism and prompting demands for alternatives.

Many countries in the region have already delayed or even halted their coronavirus immunizations due to the shortage.