Oh my God!
Italian police found millions of unreported doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine during a raid on the factory, sparking fears that the shots were hidden amid a distribution between the European Union and the United Kingdom, according to reports from this Wednesday.
Over the weekend, up to 29 million doses of vaccine were discovered, almost double the amount the European Union has received from the pharmaceutical company so far, at a pharmaceutical plant in Anagni, according to the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
The blows were initially in the UK and then blocked by Italy after new rules on vaccine exports were introduced last month, EU sources told the newspaper.
But Italy was unaware of the vaccines until EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton launched an investigation into their fate, and then informed Italian police about the plant, according to the newspaper.
“On Saturday, the European Commission asked the Prime Minister to check some batches of vaccines at an Anagni production plant. The Prime Minister informed the Minister of Health, who ordered an inspection between Saturday and Sunday, carried out by the [Italian authorities]”The lots that were inspected were destined for Belgium,” an official told The Independent.
Belgium, which is part of the European Union, is locked in close negotiations with the UK on a vaccine distribution plan, authorities said.
The carnations may have been manufactured at the Halix plant in the Netherlands, which is still pending approval by the European Medicines Agency, Italian media reported.
The Italian health ministry said it was investigating the factory incident.
AstraZeneca said most of the 29 million doses at the plant were destined for EU countries, and the rest to poor countries according to the World Health Organization’s COVAX plan.
“Currently there are no planned exports other than to COVAX countries. There are 13 million doses of vaccine waiting for the release of quality control to be sent to COVAX, ”the company told The Independent.
The remaining 16 million doses will be shipped to Europe this month and in April, after quality control is approved, the firm said.
The raid comes after AstraZeneca has been on fire by the European Commission for failed delivery targets in recent weeks.
The vaccine has been licensed in more than 50 countries, but has not yet been given the green light in the US.