An AstraZeneca vaccine production line.
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The European Union has suggested that doctor AstraZeneca redirect supply of his coronavirus vaccine from the UK to mainland Europe, as a battle for production delays and continued supply.
It comes after AstraZeneca said last week that the EU would initially deliver far fewer doses of the Covid vaccine to the 27-member bloc than originally thought.
The EU on Wednesday demanded that the pharmaceutical giant fulfill its agreement to provide it with coronavirus vaccines, by any means necessary.
Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said talks with the company, which continued on Wednesday, were “constructive”. But she also wrote on Twitter that “contractual obligations must be met, vaccines must be delivered to EU citizens”.
She said in a statement that the EU rejected the “first-come, first-served logic” after AstraZeneca CEO blamed supply delays for tooth problems at its European factories and said similar problems in the UK were resolved because he ordered the vaccine dose three months earlier than the EU.
In a press briefing, Kyriakides said that there was “no hierarchy” in the production plants mentioned in its advance purchase agreement with AstraZeneca and that it was not stipulated who would supply the EU or not.
“The contract lists four factories, but it doesn’t make the difference between the UK and Europe. The UK factories are part of our advance purchase agreement and that’s why they have to deliver,” she said. There was no clause in the contract stating that the drug manufacturer would give priority to the United Kingdom, she added.
Fighting beer
It marks the latest evolution in the public argument between the EU and AstraZeneca, as the latter is facing problems at two of its European factories.
The CEO of the British-Swedish company, Pascal Soriot, aroused tensions on Tuesday, when he declared in an interview given to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that his agreement with the EU is “the best effort” and not a “contractual commitment”.
The EU backed down, asking the drug manufacturer to present detailed plans for its delivery schedule. An official explicitly asked AstraZeneca to redirect the doses made in the UK to the EU, although the company did not respond to this problem, according to a Reuters report.
In an interview on Tuesday, Soriot said: “The British government has said that supply coming out of the British supply chain will go to the UK first. Basically, it is. The EU agreement states that factories in the UK were an option for Europe, but only later. “
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not comment directly on the issue on Wednesday, but said: “We are very confident in our supply, we are very confident in our contracts and we are moving forward on this basis.”
Vaccination leads
The EU is struggling to get its vaccination up and running because it has no supplies. The first time was a blow to the vaccine manufacturer Pfizer-BioNTech, which announced that it must temporarily reduce production in order to improve its production capacity in Belgium. This was followed by AstraZeneca last Friday, lowering its delivery estimates for the region.
A senior, unnamed EU official told Reuters that the bloc expected about 80 million doses by March, but was told it would receive only 31 million doses in return. The company did not confirm the quantities involved.
The European Medicines Agency is expected to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine for use on Friday.
The UK ordered 100 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in May, making it the first country to do so. It is highly dependent on the vaccine for its boost in immunization, which has advanced ahead of those in continental Europe since early December. The EU launched on 27 December; initially ordered 300 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in August.
To date, the UK has vaccinated more than 7.1 million people with a first dose of the vaccine and almost half a million have received the second dose, meaning it has carried out more immunizations than Germany, France, Italy and Spain at a place, according to Our World In Figures.