The European Union has moved to tighten regulations on the export of novel coronavirus vaccines outside the EU. The move comes after AstraZeneca shockingly cut the supply of vaccines it plans to send to the EU in the coming weeks, and the EU’s move means the impact of the matter has escalated further.
EU health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides (Stella Kyriakides) on Monday proposed that companies must give advance notice if they plan to deliver vaccines to other parts of the world. The EU is currently working to increase the supply of vaccines.
Officials said the stricter approach is expected to follow a temporary program last year that required companies to obtain authorization when exporting personal protective equipment for novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19, or 2019 coronavirus disease) outside the EU.
The European Commission held crisis talks with AstraZeneca on Monday evening about the production shortage, and the talks produced no results. The shortage could put EU countries further behind the U.S. and the U.K. in rolling out the new coronavirus vaccine.
“We want a clear deal and full transparency when it comes to exporting vaccines from the EU,” Kiriakides told reporters Monday. “In the future, all companies in the EU that produce New Crown vaccine will have to give advance notice whenever they want to export vaccines to third countries.”
The proposed stricter rules on vaccine exports underscore the intensity of the vaccine battle, with global vaccine supplies still in short supply. The EU imposed the PPE regulations between March and May last year, also because of concerns about product shortages.
European officials said the European Commission and EU member states were angered by AstraZeneca’s disclosure on Friday. AstraZeneca said its first-quarter supply could be more than 50 percent below the EU’s expectation of up to 100 million doses of the vaccine. The company has production sites in both the EU and the United Kingdom, the latter of which is not affected by the supply cut.
The company said its vaccine shipments are “not delayed in terms of timing,” but that “initial volumes” will be lower than expected because of a drop in production at one of its EU supply chain sites.
But Kiriakides said AstraZeneca’s proposed new supply arrangement was “unacceptable” and said the EU wanted to know “exactly where AstraZeneca is producing which doses …… and, if there are deliveries, to whom? Who is the target?” After Monday night’s meeting, she expressed dissatisfaction with the company’s “lack of clarity and adequate explanation. In a tweet, she wrote: “EU member states are united and vaccine developers need to comply with their social as well as contractual responsibilities.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier held talks with AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot, urging the company to speed up deliveries. The European Commission said she “made clear” to Sobolco that she “expects AstraZeneca to fulfill the contractual arrangements” agreed with the EU, which will buy up to 400 million doses of the vaccine under the deal.
AstraZeneca said it was doing “everything possible” to deliver the vaccine as soon as possible. “Earlier today, our chief executive, Mr. Suboko, was pleased to speak with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He stressed the importance of the partnership and the fact that AstraZeneca is doing everything possible to bring the vaccine to millions of Europeans as soon as possible,” the company said.
The vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University, is the first vaccine to be pre-ordered by the EU. The 400 million doses of the 2-dose per course vaccine will cover nearly half of the region’s 446 million people.
According to the Financial Times, the UK has administered more than 10 doses of the vaccine per 100 inhabitants and the US 6.6 doses per 100 inhabitants, but the EU’s vaccination level is less than 2 doses per 100 inhabitants.
Recent Comments