The European Commission is expected to unveil plans on Wednesday to prepare the bloc to tackle the increasing worries posed by new Covid-19 strains.

The plans are also an attempt by the EU to address concerns about vaccine production and distribution, the Financial Times reports.

The EU has so far approved the use of the vaccines produced by Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford/Astra Zeneca, and is set to approve Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the coming weeks.

However, the Astra Zeneca vaccine has been suspended in South Africa after a university study found that it offers little protection against one of the Covid strains identified in the country.

The Financial Times reports that the European Commission’s priorities are for the EU to boost research into virus variants and bolster available manufacturing capacity so that adapted vaccines can be rapidly introduced.

“This means taking steps to ensure the rapid detection of new variants, including setting out guidance for member states on increasing genetic sequencing of positive Covid-19 tests.”

The plan could also see faster vaccine approvals.

This comes after Member States complained that the European Medicines Agency has taken too long to issue initial approvals for the three leading Covid-19 jabs.

And to address concerns of a slow vaccine production, the plan could possibly include the creation of a network of factories that can be quickly modified to production needs.

The European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, has been tasked with ensuring a ramp-up of the EU’s vaccine production capacity.

The strategy is expected to be released by commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.

Von der Leyen last week said the EU had been too late to approve some Covid-19 shots, too optimistic when it came to vaccine production capacity and too confident that doses would be delivered on time.