Ursula von der Leyen signed contracts worth EUR 71 billion to purchase 4.5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

Omissions

• The European Court of Auditors (the authoritative primary source) states the contracts covered 'up to 4.6 billion' doses, not 4.5 billion — the claimed 4.5 billion is a close but slightly lower approximation.
• The contracts were signed by the European Commission on behalf of the Member States; attributing them personally to Ursula von der Leyen is a simplification (she is the Commission President).
• The €71 billion figure refers to contracts signed as of November 2021 and comes from a 2022 report — the data is more than two years older than the date of the claim (2026-09-17).
• The figures represent contracted volumes/purchase commitments ('up to' a given number of doses), not doses actually purchased or delivered.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Court of Auditors — Special Report 19/2022: EU COVID-19 vaccine procurementBy November 2021, the Commission had signed €71 billion worth of contracts on behalf of the Member States to purchase up to 4.6 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses.
• SecondaryPOLITICO — EU vaccine chief's next big fight... vaccine procurement effort, securing more than 4.5 billion doses and ultimately vaccinating at least 275 million people. Now von der Leyen ...
• SecondaryMédecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign — EU's hollow promises of global COVID-19 vaccine equity (briefing note)The EU currently has agreements for up to 4.5 billion doses for a population of 450 million people: up to 10 doses per inhabitant.