MILAN (Reuters) – The EU Commission has decided not to renew contracts for the COVID-19 vaccine next year with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Italian newspaper La Stampa reported on Wednesday, citing a source in the Italian Ministry of Health.
“The European Commission, in agreement with the leaders of many countries (of the EU), has decided that the contracts with the companies that produce vaccines (viral vector) valid for the current year will not be renewed at their expiration” , the newspaper reported. reported.
He added that Brussels would prefer to focus on COVID-19 vaccines that use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, such as Pfizer and Moderna.
An EU Commission spokesman said he kept open all options to prepare for the next stages of the pandemic, for 2022 and beyond.
“We cannot, however, comment on contractual issues,” the spokesman added.
On Wednesday, the European Commission president said the EU was in talks with Pfizer and BionTech over a new 1.8 billion-dose deal, confirming a Reuters report last week.
“We need to focus on technologies that have proven their worth. MRNA vaccines are a clear case, “he added.
The Italian health ministry declined to comment.
The European Commission is asking J&J for clarification on the company’s “completely unexpected” announcement of delays in the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to the EU, an EU official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Report by Maria Pia Quaglia, additional report by Emilio Parodi in Milan and Francesco Guarascio in Brussels, edited by Jane Merriman