BRUSSELS (AP) – A shipment of more than a quarter of a million AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia has been blocked since leaving the European Union, in the first use of an export control system set up by the bloc to ensure that large pharmaceutical companies will comply with the contracts.
The movement, which affects only a small number of vaccines, underscores growing frustration within the bloc of 27 nations over the slow launch of its vaccination effort and the shortage of promised vaccine deliveries, especially by the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca.
The ban came at the request of Italy, and the EU has not raised any objections to the tougher line Rome has taken to tackle the shortage of vaccines en bloc since a new government led by Mario Draghi came to power. February.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Friday that he had anticipated veto problems in European transport, adding that Australia’s inoculation program would continue as planned.
“She is in a state of unrest. This is not the situation in Australia, “said Morrison. “However, we have managed to secure additional supplies and consumables for import, both with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which means we can continue to launch our program.”
He said most significantly, Australia also produced vaccines domestically, giving it sovereignty over its vaccination program.
Italy’s objections focused on both the general lack of supply in the EU and the “delays in the supply of vaccines by AstraZeneca to the EU and Italy”, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
He said he also intervened because of the size of the transport, more than 250,700 doses, which would go to Australia, which he did not consider a vulnerable nation.
Italy said it informed the company on Tuesday. AstraZeneca declined to comment. The Financial Times first reported on the issue late Thursday.
Faced with a lack of doses in the early stages of the vaccination campaign that began in late December, the EU issued an export control system for COVID-19 vaccines in late January, forcing companies to comply with their contractual obligations to the bloc before so that commercial exports can be made. approved.
The EU has been specifically angry with AstraZeneca, as it is delivering far fewer doses to the bloc than promised. From the initial order for 80 million doses to the EU in the first quarter, the company will struggle to deliver only half of the quantity.
There have been rumors that the company is moving away from EU production plants to other countries, but CEO Pascal Soriot insisted that any deficiencies should be blamed on technical production issues.
The EU has vaccinated only 8% of its population, compared to over 30%, for example, in the United Kingdom. Australia is still very much at the beginning of its vaccination action.
With such action, the EU is caught up. On the one hand, it is under intense pressure to increase bulk vaccine production, and on the other hand, it wants to remain an attractive hub for pharmaceutical giants and a fair trading partner in third countries.
The EU believed that it had made perfect preparations for the launch of vaccinations, heavily funding research and production capacity over the past year. With 450 million people, the EU has signed agreements for six different vaccines. In total, it has ordered up to 400 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and has agreements with other companies for more than 2 billion photos.
It is said that, despite the current difficulties, he is still convinced that he can vaccinate 70% of the adult population by the end of the summer.
___
Danica Kirka contributed from London, Colleen Barry from Milan and Nick Perry from Wellington, New Zealand.