The European Union is on track for herd immunity by mid-July, the EU’s vaccine chief Thierry Breton told CNN.

“We now have 53 factories, seven days a week, and I will tell you today, that we will deliver the number of doses which will be necessary to achieve 70% of the population being vaccinated by mid-July.”

He insisted the EU was working extremely hard to make this happen and said it was possible. Once the doses are produced, it is up to each member state to administer the vaccines, Breton said, adding that he was in contact with all EU countries who are “doing the right things” to make sure people will get vaccinated.

Breton said he had confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying it is a “good vaccine,” adding, it’s “extremely important that all of our fellow citizens understand that we are extremely cautious…and when we give it (a vaccine) the green light, we can go.”

Asked whether the EU would use Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, he said the approval was in the hands of European medical regulators. But he said even if it was approved, it wouldn’t change the situation in Europe immediately.

“Our citizens believed maybe at the beginning that you order and you get, the following day, the vaccine. No it doesn’t happen like that, you need at least 10 to 12 months to transform the facility to adapt to the vaccine. When it will be approved, you will need maybe another 10 months,” he explained.

Watch Thierry Breton's full interview on CNN's First Move with Julia Chatterley here:

"We will deliver the number of doses necessary to achieve 70% of the adult population being vaccinated by mid-July.” #EU Vaccine Chief @ThierryBreton discusses thoughts on #vaccine passports, disqualifying #SputnikV from entry, and confidence in herd immunity this summer. pic.twitter.com/XvD7TUsObw

— Julia Chatterley (@jchatterleyCNN) April 8, 2021