Italy on Thursday blocked the export of 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca to Australia, becoming the first EU country to impose an export ban due to the vaccine shortage in the bloc.
Why does it matter: The controversial step poses multiple major challenges for vaccine distribution – even among the richest countries in the world.
Game status: AstraZeneca has already come a long way in providing doses to the EU. Now the company says it will deliver less than half of the doses initially promised in the second trimester.
- This has angered European leaders, who are under pressure due to the remarkably ineffective launch of vaccines so far. Only one dose was given in the EU for every three in the US and every four in the UK, adjusted for population.
- This explains Italy’s decision, backed by the European Commission, to block a shipment of 250,000 doses to Australia from a US-owned factory near Rome, where the bottles were filled.
- The action was taken under a system developed in January – amid a controversial dispute with AstraZeneca over access to doses produced in the UK – to allow vaccine exports to be blocked if a company fails to meet its obligations to the EU.
However, but: Procurement is not the only problem. EU countries, including Italy, are already on hundreds of thousands of unused doses of AstraZeneca.
- There was a general feeling of hesitation about the vaccine, fueled in part by a misrepresentation of its effectiveness in a German newspaper and the bizarre statement by French President Emmanuel Macron that it was “almost ineffective” in people over 65.
- France and Germany have approved the vaccine for people over 65 this week alone, after being delayed due to insufficient data.
- By numbers: France administered only 16% of the doses of AstraZeneca it had received since last Friday, while Italy and Germany both used around 21%.
News management: UK real-world data – which relies heavily on the home vaccine, which was developed at Oxford University – now suggests that the vaccine is extremely effective in preventing hospitalization among the elderly even after a single dose. .
Between the lines: EU countries have caused two international incidents, with the UK and now Australia, over access to a vaccine that they hardly use.
- And all this is happening at a time when countries around the world, many of which will rely on the AstraZeneca vaccine, have not had access to any vaccine.
What to look for: Italy’s decision also highlights the difficulties faced by import-based countries in receiving doses.
- Canada, for example, ordered more doses relative to its population than any other country, but received relatively few.
- Meanwhile, the US, which has the largest vaccine production capacity in the world, according to Airfinity, is about to produce enough doses by May to cover the entire adult population.