Located a short 22 km away from Brussels, Puurs is a modest Belgian city with a population of 17,000 that is mostly invested in agriculture. Generally calm and elegant, Puurs is known to come alive and busy on the weekends when tourists flock into the city to visit World War II’s Fort Breendonk.
As of late November, Puurs started welcoming dozens of journalists and media broadcasters who made for the city after US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced that its main factory there will be manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine.
Pfizer will be manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the German biotechnology company BioNTech and distributing it across Europe. The first batch of the vaccine has already been delivered to the UK last Thursday.
A spokesperson from Pfizer confirmed that the company expects to globally produce up to 50 million vaccine doses by the end of this year.
Correspondents from British media began arriving in Puurs after Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that the final green light was given to rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and that the UK will begin distributing it as of Tuesday.
Pfizer's decision to set up its main European factory in Belgium dates back to the early 1950s.
Most major US pharmaceuticals were attracted to Belgium’s long-standing expertise in chemical industries, sea, and air transportation network, and geographic location which is strategically nestled at Europe’s center.
Locals at Puurs who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat have expressed pride in Pfizer’s achievements.
It is worth noting that, after deciding to go into full-throttle on production to meet Europe’s vaccine demand, Pfizer added 300 employees to its original 3,000 at the Puurs facility.
Koen Van den Heuvel, who has been the Mayor of Puurs for the past 24 years, said locals feel a great sense of pride that something that could save millions of lives is being manufactured in their town.
"I feel the pride of the inhabitants and we say now that we are going to save the world!" Van Der Heuvel told Euronews.
"There is new hope. I hope that our town can have one of the 50 vaccination centers because for me it is very important that people can go near their home for a vaccine."
Located in Belgium's Flanders region, the town is home to a cluster of pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer.
