Only a share of the European Union population can be inoculated against the new coronavirus before 2022, should an effective vaccine be available, EU officials said in an internal meeting, as governments remain split on vaccination plans, according to a Reuters report.

The warning comes in spite of the fact that the 27-nation bloc, with a population of 450 million, has secured more than a billion doses of potential Covid-19 vaccines from three drugmakers. It is negotiating the booking of another billion vials with other companies.

As a global scramble to secure shots accelerates, experts caution that not every potential vaccine may prove to be effective.