Covid: EU's von der Leyen admits vaccine rollout shortcomings

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has admitted the EU was late to authorise Covid-19 vaccines and "we're still not where we want to be".

She acknowledged shortcomings in the Commission's vaccine response in a speech to the European Parliament.

Mrs von der Leyen faced criticism from MEPs over the EU's handling of the rollout.

However, she was adamant that the decision to order vaccines collectively was "the right thing to do".

The Commission has come under fire for the slow pace of delivery under its vaccine scheme, which was established in June last year and allows it to negotiate the purchase of vaccines on behalf of its member states.

The rollout has also been hit by delays from vaccine producers including Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech, amid issues of capacity and supply.