COVID-19 vaccine
COVID-19 vaccineReuters

The European Union (EU) will have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to cover 70 percent of its adult population by mid-July due to higher production within the bloc, a senior official said Tuesday.

"Fifty-three factories are producing vaccines in the EU. Our continent is now the largest producer in the world after the United States," internal markets commissioner Thierry Breton was quoted by AFP as having told French daily Le Figaro.

"I am now certain of how many doses are currently in production and I know how many millions will be delivered each week," he added.

"This allows me to assure you that we well have by mid-July the number of doses necessary for vaccinating 70 percent of the European Union's adult population," continued Breton, citing the threshold many health experts say is necessary to achieve "herd immunity".

EU governments have faced fierce criticism over the bloc's joint vaccine procurement efforts.

Already half of American adults have had at least one dose, and as of Monday anyone aged 16 and over can sign up for a shot.

In the EU, by contrast, just over 20 percent of adults have received at least one jab, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Breton stressed that Europe would catch up in the coming months, with production capacity "that will reach 200 million doses a month by this summer".