Rome Italy.
The discovery in Italy of a reservation of 29 million doses from vaccine of AstraZeneca against the covid-19 fueled mistrust in the EU on Wednesday and led to a laboratory denial of the fate of these medicines.
The doses were identified by officials Italians during an inspection of a packaging plant in Anagni, near Rome.
AstraZeneca it is at the center of a resounding controversy over the significant delays in deliveries it is at committed to the EU.
The announcement of this discovery, reported by the Italian press and then confirmed by European sourcesIt became known on the same day that the EU decided to drastically strengthen its mechanism for controlling vaccine exports.
Under strong pressure, the laboratory assured that the 29 million of stored doses were pending one “Quality Control”.
In addition, he noted, 16 million doses they were destined for EU countries and 13 million would be for the international fund COVAX, support for low-income countries.
“Exports are not currently planned outside the COVAX program countries,” a spokesman for AstraZeneca. “They will be delivered almost 10 million doses in EU countries in the last week of March, the rest in April, “he added.
Simultaneously, a source of government of the United Kingdom denied that any of the doses stored in Italy were destined for London, And an Italian government official said that “they appeared to be destined for Belgium “, a country that acts as a platform for the distribution of vaccines.
AstraZeneca produces its vaccines within the EU in two factories in Belgium and the Netherlands, while the plant in Italy is in charge of bottling.
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The inspection of the Italian site in Anagni had been requested by European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, and the EU will now check who these vaccines were intended for, a European official told AFP.
“We suspect that AstraZeneca had more production capacity in Europe of which had been registered, “he noted.
AstraZeneca he had initially promised 120 million doses in EU countries in the first quarter, but then admitted that it could only provide 30 million.