BRUSSELS (AP) – A shipment of more than a quarter of a million AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia has been blocked at the exit of the European Union, in the first use of an export control system set up by the bloc to ensure -large pharmaceutical companies respect their contracts.
The measure, which affects only a small number of vaccines, underscores growing frustration within the bloc of 27 countries over the slow implementation of its vaccine collection and the deficit of promised vaccine deliveries, especially by Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca.
The ban came at the urging of Italy and the EU raised no objections to the tougher line Rome has taken on the shortage of vaccines on the bloc since a new government led by Mario Draghi came to power. on February 13th.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Friday that he had predicted that veto problems could arise in shipments from Europe, adding that Australia’s inoculation schedule would continue as planned.
“They are in a situation of unbridled crisis. This is not the situation in Australia, “Morrison said.” But we have nevertheless been able to secure our supplies and additional supplies for import, with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which means we can continue with the launch. of our program “.
He said that, more significantly, Australia also produced vaccines nationally, giving it sovereignty over its vaccination program.
Italy’s objections focused on both the general shortage of supplies in the EU and “delays in the supply of vaccines by AstraZeneca to the EU and Italy,” a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Exteriors.
He said he also intervened due to the size of the shipment, more than 250,700 doses, which would go to Australia, which he did not consider a vulnerable nation.
Italy said it had informed the company on Tuesday. AstraZeneca declined to comment. The Financial Times first reported on the issue Thursday at the end.
Given the shortage of doses during the early stages of the vaccine campaign that began in late December, the EU issued a system to control exports of COVID-19 vaccines in late January, forcing companies to respect their contractual obligations to the block before they can be exported commercially. approved.
The EU has been specifically angry with AstraZeneca for delivering much fewer doses to the blog than it had promised. Of the initial order of 80 million doses in the EU during the first quarter, the company will struggle to deliver only half of that amount.
There were rumors that the company was disengaging from EU production plants to other nations, but CEO Pascal Soriot insisted that only any shortfall in technical production issues should be blamed.
The EU has only vaccinated 8% of its population compared to more than 30%, for example, in the UK. Australia is still very early in its vaccination.
With this action, the EU is trapped. On the one hand, it is under intense pressure to increase vaccine production in the bloc, while on the other it wants to remain an attractive hub for pharmaceutical giants and a fair trading partner in third countries.
The EU thought it had made perfect preparations for the deployment of vaccines, largely funding research and production capacity over the past year. With its 450 million people, the EU has signed agreements for six different vaccines. In total, it has ordered up to 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and sealed agreements with other companies for more than 2 billion shots.
He says that despite the current difficulties, he is still convinced that he can vaccinate 70% of the adult population by the end of summer.
___
Danica Kirka collaborated from London, Colleen Barry from Milan and Nick Perry from Wellington, New Zealand.