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Just a month ago, AstraZeneca told authorities in Europe that it would not comply with first-quarter COVID-19 vaccine deliveries, sparking a controversial few days as officials pressured executives to increase supplies. Now the drugmaker is raising flags over its second-quarter supplies. But this time, he has a plan to divert doses from elsewhere.
AstraZeneca is still “working to increase productivity in its EU supply chain,” an email spokesperson said, and plans to “use its global capacity to achieve the delivery of 180 million doses to the EU in the second trimester”.
About “half of the expected volume will come from the EU supply chain, while the rest will come from its international supply network,” he added.
During the first three months of the year, AZ committed 80 million doses of its COVID vaccine, but its European supply chain did not produce as much throughput as initially expected, leading the company to reduce deliveries to around 30 million. dose. After some heated back and forth, AstraZeneca said it would push to deliver 40 million doses to Europe in the first quarter.
CEO Pascal Soriot explained that the company is using a global manufacturing network and that some sites are further ahead than others in learning how to scale the complex manufacturing process.
RELATED: AstraZeneca, EU Officials Brawl In The Press As The Battle Over COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Heats Up
In response to the news about AZ production problems, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told the German publication Augsburger Allgemeine that “vaccine manufacturers are our partners in this pandemic and have never faced a similar challenge ”, according to AFP. Questions always arise that we can generally resolve amicably, he added.
Meanwhile, in recent weeks, reports emerged that Europe could request doses from the Serum Institute of India to help meet demand during the immunization effort. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute, said he had been told to focus on the Indian market first.
RELATED: AstraZeneca’s Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Partner Asked To Prioritize Local Supplies: CEO
Europe is also launching the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, but so far the region is behind the leading countries in the race to vaccinate as many people as possible.
According to Our World in Data, the European Union is behind Israel, which has vaccinated the largest proportion of its population, in addition to the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Chile.
As AstraZeneca works to fulfill its order in Europe, an executive told Congress this week that the company could have 50 million doses ready by April. The company has not yet submitted the vaccine to the US FDA.
