AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine ampoules (COVID-19) on the first day of mass vaccination of police and firefighters at Wanda Metropolitan Stadium.
Marcos del Mazo | LightRocket | Getty Images
LONDON – The European Union has made its first intervention in the supply of coronavirus vaccines, Italy reportedly blocked a shipment of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to Australia on Thursday.
Reuters reported, citing two sources, that AstraZeneca requested permission from Rome to deliver about 250,000 doses from its factory in Anagni. However, the Italian government refused. The Financial Times also reported the same story. An AstraZeneca spokesman was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
In January, the European Union carried out temporary controls on the export of vaccines made inside the block, following a spit with the British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and wider supply problems. The EU has been under pressure for what critics describe as a slow release of Covid vaccines.
The European Commission, the institution that runs the purchase agreements, has been accused of not providing enough vaccines, and the health agency in the region has been criticized for taking too long to approve vaccinations that have been given the green light elsewhere.
Checks will last until the end of March and will give EU Member States the power to refuse to authorize exports if vaccine manufacturers do not comply with the contracts.