BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union warned pharmaceutical giants on Tuesday that they have developed coronavirus vaccines with EU help that should be launched in time, a day after the bloc threatened to impose export controls to vaccines produced at its borders.
The EU made it very clear that it is determined to get all doses as quickly as its contracts stipulate at a time when infections are on the rise, many hospitals are overflowing and many of the 27 member states are struggling to get vaccines to the maximum. speed.
The tightening of his position came days after he accused AstraZeneca of not guaranteeing the delivery of coronavirus vaccines without a valid explanation. He had also expressed displeasure at the delays in the delivery of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine is already being rolled out in the EU and AstraZeneca approval is expected this week.
“Europe has invested billions to help develop the world’s first COVID-19 vaccines,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum’s virtual event in Switzerland. “And now, companies have to deliver. They have to fulfill their obligations. ”
The EU, which invested 2.7 billion euros in vaccine research and production for pharmaceutical companies, “means business,” he added, reflecting the strong pressure EU countries have to deploy vaccines.
The EU has pledged to buy 300 million doses of AstraZeneca with the option of an additional 100 million shots. Late last week, the company said it planned to reduce a first contingent from 80 million to 31 million. Pfizer has said it is delaying deliveries to Europe and Canada while upgrading its plant in Belgium to increase production capacity.
And after two meetings and phone calls, the level of mistrust that has only grown between the EU and the Anglo-Swedish giant. “We see that doses are being administered elsewhere and we know we have signed an agreement,” Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said.
That is why the EU is preparing a system of strict export controls for all coronavirus vaccines produced in the bloc, increasing the spectrum that could prevent doses from going to countries outside the EU until their own orders are complied with. . The commission insists that it is basically a matter of monitoring whether companies are respecting their commitments to the EU.
Critics say it could lead to a ban on exports while the EU receives its full allocation. Both AstraZeneca and Pfizer have EU-made vaccines.
The largest EU member state was firmly behind von der Leyen’s opinion, and dismissed any suggestion that the EU was seeking special treatment.
“With a complex process like vaccine production, I can understand if there are production problems, but then it has to affect everyone in an equitable and equitable way,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn told ZDF television. “It’s not about the EU first, it’s about Europe’s fair share.”
The EU, which has 450 million citizens and the economic and political impact of the world’s largest trading bloc, lags far behind countries such as Israel and Britain in launching coronavirus vaccines for their health workers and the most vulnerable people. This despite having more than 400,000 confirmed deaths from viruses since the pandemic began.
However, slow deployment is not just the result of vaccine production problems. The deployment of France was delayed by logistical and administrative problems, including lengthy bureaucratic consent rules designed to dispel fears about what authorities believed was an unusually high number of skeptics of the French vaccine.
The Netherlands had to struggle to prepare for the difficult-to-handle Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine with the deep-freezing requirement. Although approximately 10% of the UK population has received at least one dose, this figure is around 2% overall or lower in many EU nations.
However, delays in obtaining vaccines will make it difficult to achieve the first targets of the EU target of vaccinating 70% of its adults by the end of the summer. French Health Minister Olivier Veran said slow delivery could affect the entire chain. If the schedule is not respected, he said, “then you can change the game.”
The European Medicines Agency plans to review the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on Friday and its approval is expected. The AstraZeneca vaccine is already in use in Britain and has been approved for emergency use by half a dozen countries, including India, Pakistan, Argentina and Mexico.
The EU has signed six vaccine contracts for more than 2 billion doses, but so far only Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been approved.
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Geir Moulson and Frank Jordans in Berlin, Mike Corder in The Hague and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.
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