The failure of the EU vaccine is due to the fact that it did not “shoot for the stars”, says Macron

PARIS (Reuters) – European leaders have failed to see COVID-19 vaccines developed as soon as they are, which is why EU launches are now lagging behind other countries, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a broadcast interview Wednesday.

“Everyone, all the experts, have said, ‘No vaccine has ever been developed in human history in less than a year,'” Macron told Greek television station ERT.

“I did not shoot for the stars. This should be a lesson for all of us. We were wrong without ambition, without madness, I would say, saying: It is possible to do this “, said Macron, in a rare acknowledgment of the failure in the pandemic.

European Union leaders are struggling to speed up vaccinations, targeting countries such as the United Kingdom and United Sattes and facing supply delays.

Macron himself was criticized at home for a hesitant launch, which was slowed by bureaucracy and public distrust of vaccines.

“I didn’t think it would happen so quickly … You can give that to the Americans, since the summer of 2020 they said: let’s take all the stops and do it,” Macron said.

“As for us, we did not go fast enough, strong enough in this regard. I thought the vaccines would take time to take off. ”

The EU stepped up its surveillance of coronavirus vaccine exports on Wednesday, giving it more opportunities to block shipments to countries with higher inoculation rates, such as the United Kingdom, or which do not share the doses they produce.