According to reports, Italy is blocking the export of a shipment of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines to Australia due to the company’s failure to deliver all the promised doses to the European Union.
Two sources he told Reuters in a report released on Thursday that the decision is supported by the European Commission.
AstraZeneca had wanted Italy to send 250,000 doses of the vaccine to Australia from a plant near Rome, sources told Reuters. But the The EU gave countries the right to block shipments of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed in coordination with Oxford University, after disputes arose as the company was unable to deliver the promised amount of doses. of vaccine.
In January, AstraZeneca cut back on what it had previously promised From 80 million doses to 31 million. The reduction came at a time when the EU was already being accused of slowly deploying the vaccine.
In response, the European Commission told countries that they were allowed to block vaccine shipments.
The hill has contacted AstraZeneca for further comments.
Countries are rushing to vaccinate their populations, as inoculation is considered key to reopening businesses and returning to pre-pandemic economic conditions.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet been approved for use in the United States. The three vaccines currently available in America are from drug manufacturers Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and, more recently, Johnson & Johnson.