An army health worker prepares a dose of AstraZeneca/Oxford’s Covidium vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India at an army hospital in Colombo, Jan. 29, 2021.
The European Union launched a defense of the Covid-19 vaccine on Jan. 29 after a dispute over the reduced supply of vaccines from the British company AstraZeneca, announcing that approval must be obtained for the export of vaccines produced in the EU from Jan. 30 to the end of March.
AstraZeneca informed the EU on Jan. 22 that its supply would be reduced by up to 60 percent in the first quarter of this year due to a reduction in vaccine supply, and said it would give priority to the UK because it had contracted with the UK earlier, while the contract signed with the EU was to provide the vaccine “on a best effort basis”.
In order to force Astellicom to take responsibility for the performance of the vaccine, the EU first made public the contract with Astellicom in the morning of the 29th, and then started the vaccine defense war in the afternoon after the European Union Medicines Agency (EMA) approved Astellicom’s vaccine, announcing that the export of the vaccine needed to be authorized.
EU Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Friday that protecting the safety of EU citizens is a top priority, and the current challenge of undeliverable vaccines leaves the EU no choice but to act.
Stella Kyriakides, the EU executive in charge of health operations, said the EU has invested money in vaccine manufacturers over the past year to ensure that when vaccines are licensed and deliveries begin, manufacturers need to keep their promises.
According to a supplementary note issued by the EU, after implementation, vaccines produced in the EU will need to be notified and approved in advance before they can be exported. The EU emphasizes that this mechanism is not a restriction on vaccine exports, but rather a lack of transparency on the part of some vaccine manufacturers, and hopes to obtain complete information through this mechanism to ensure that manufacturers meet their delivery commitments.
However, most European countries, including Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, are not subject to this restriction, with the exception of vaccines produced for humanitarian reasons and those participating in the Global Vaccine Access Mechanism (COVAX).
Export authorizations are at the discretion of EU member states, but member states should work with the European Commission to assess whether there will be any impact on the EU.
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