When phar­maceutical companies began distributing COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020 and early 2021, the European Union fell immediately behind the United Kingdom and United States in the number of doses administered. It faced shortages while, at the same time, allowing a substantial share of the vaccines it was receiving to be exported. This slow initial roll-out – which happened just as another wave of the pandemic was hitting many EU member states – has been extremely costly in human and economic terms and has battered the reputation of the European Commission.