LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - The European Commission has contracted Pfizer (PFE.N) and several European companies to reserve capacity to make up to 325 million vaccines per year in case of a future global health emergency, it said on Friday. The European Commission said in a statement announcing the deal that the COVID pandemic showed that Europe needs to be better prepared for future health emergencies. But vaccine equity activists said the EU risked a repeat of what the World Health Organization dubbed "vaccine apartheid" during COVID-19. The Commission has selected Pfizer's plants in Ireland and Belgium to reserve capacity to produce mRNA vaccines. It selected Spanish companies Reig Jofre (RJFE.MC) and Laboratorios Hipra SA to reserve capacity for protein-based vaccines and Bilthoven Biologicals B.V. of the Netherlands for vector-based vaccines.

---

Persons: Mohga Kamal, Reig, Maggie Fick, Jennifer Rigby, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: European Commission, Pfizer, Reuters, EU, World Health Organization, People’s Vaccine, Laboratorios Hipra SA, World Health, Thomson Locations: Europe, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, London