The warning comes in spite of the fact that the 27-nation bloc, with a population of 450 million, has secured more than 1 billion doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines from three drugmakers. It is negotiating the booking of another billion vials with other companies.
As a global scramble to secure shots accelerates, experts caution that not every potential vaccine may prove to be effective.
"There will not be sufficient doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the entire population before the end of 2021," a European Commission official told diplomats from EU states in a closed-door meeting on Monday, a person who attended it told Reuters.
A second official confirmed the statement. An EU Commission spokesman was not immediately available for comment.There is still no effective COVID-19 vaccine, but the first shots could be available at the beginning of next year, the Commission said earlier in October.