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What did AstraZeneca publish?
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides has reacted very sharply to AstraZeneca’s report on Friday that if the Community approves the vaccine developed by the company in conjunction with the University of Oxford, the initial amounts will be lower than expected .
How small? The EU has reserved – of course, for money – 300 million. AstraZeneca vaccine dose. It is possible to buy another 100 million. dose.
Vaccine “Reuters” / “Scanpix” nuotr./ “AstraZeneca”
However, the company announced that the first shipment will not amount to 80 million. doses, as previously reported, and 31 million. AstraZeneca explained this by “reduced productivity at the production site within our European supply chain.”
The EU’s response is anger
EU officials responded quickly. Kiriakides arranged talks with AstraZeneca, British and Swedish pharmacists, both on Friday and Monday, and expects another discussion on Wednesday.
The explanations are “unacceptable” to the European Union, the commissioner said, adding: “The EU will take all necessary measures to protect its citizens and their rights.” Vaccine developers have obligations to society and to contracts that must be fulfilled. “
AFP / “Scanpix” nuotr./Stella Kyriakides
The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, which is already in use in the UK and has already been approved in India, Pakistan, Argentina and Mexico, has not yet been approved by the Community. EU approval is expected next Friday.
The AstraZeneca report is a particularly painful blow for the EU. Many members of the Community have decided not to buy the maximum quantity of mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna and have opted for the British option, which is cheaper and easier to transport and store.
In mid-January, Pfizer announced that changes were needed at its vaccine plant in Belgium to increase vaccine production starting in mid-February.
It is this vaccine that has long been considered a leader in the race by the creators of such vaccines. The researchers were the first to launch clinical trials, the first to promise to sell discounted doses of the vaccine, and the first to sign a large contract with the EU.
Not surprisingly, the current news is even more shocking than Pfizer’s previous delay report. In mid-January, the company announced that changes were needed at its vaccine plant in Belgium to increase vaccine production starting in mid-February.
This is already plaguing the EU’s vaccination programs based on two-dose vaccines, with several countries officially announcing that older people and others will have to wait for vaccines to arrive.
“Scanpix” nuotr./Ursula von der Leyen
One of these countries, Italy, is threatening to sue Pfizer. And the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, now probably doubts that the goal of vaccinating 70% adults in the next four months, in June, is possible to achieve.
What are you going to do?
Analysts say the EU is now making no secret of its intention to significantly increase pressure on vaccine manufacturers. In particular, the Community appears to simply consider that AstraZeneca has diverted the doses of vaccine it had reserved to other countries at a higher cost.
The company’s explanations The EU is not convinced: Commissioner Kiriakides has made it clear that the Commission suspects that AstraZeneca is or will transport doses of vaccines.
“The European Union wants to know exactly how many doses AstraZeneca has produced, where they have been delivered so far,” said the official, who had submitted a proposal from Brussels on a “transparency mechanism” to control shipments of vaccines exported from the EU. to third countries.
Such restrictions, which were already in place in the spring when Europe rushed to inspect exported personal protective equipment, were immediately backed by German Health Minister Jens Spahn, the most powerful member of the EU.
„Reuters“ / „Scanpix“ nuotr./Jensas Spahnas
“As the EU, we need to know if and what vaccines are exported from the EU. Only then can we understand whether the EU’s contracts with producers are being fulfilled in good faith. The commitment to obtain approval to export the vaccine at the EU level is logical, ”said Spahn.
AstraZeneca manufactures part of the vaccine doses in Belgium, an EU country. In Brussels, it is suspected that the company sold these doses to third parties, but later realized that production was delayed and that the Community would not be able to fulfill its obligations.
Photo from Scanpix / AstraZeneca Belgium office
By the way, Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines are also produced in Belgium, so the implementation of export control plans by the EU could theoretically cause problems for the UK.
Finally, on Tuesday, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevičius said that EU members could coordinate their actions and jointly sue AstraZeneca for breach of contract.
Has the pressure already helped?
On Tuesday morning at least, the Lithuanian State Medicines Control Agency informed BNS that AstraZeneca had increased the quantities of COVID-19 vaccines that were planned to be delivered to Lithuania and other EU countries in February.
As the Lithuanian Health Ministry informed BNS on Saturday, a fifth of the planned number of vaccines will arrive in Lithuania in the first quarter.
Gytis Andrulionis, head of the Medicines Control Service, says that after the agreement reached with the manufacturer on Monday, this amount will increase, but it is not yet possible to say exactly how.
Also, the updated quantities were only shipped for February, and AstraZeneca had previously announced that 60% smaller shipments to the Community are anticipated for the entire first quarter of 2021. So there is still a lot of uncertainty about March.
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