Is the vaccine war threatening? Outraged by AstraZeneca CEO’s comments, Brussels calls for contract to be made public

AstraZeneca announced last week that the initial shipment of the vaccine it developed, as soon as the product is approved this week, will be smaller than planned for the European Union.

The EU has reserved 300 million euros. Vaccine against AstraZeneca and has the opportunity to acquire another 100 million. However, the company has announced that the first shipment will not be 80 million as previously announced, but 31 million. dose – 60 percent. Less.

By the way, it is said that they should expect even fewer doses, about a quarter of the previously planned amount.

Contracts between states or their vaccine blocks and their manufacturers are generally confidential. But Mr Soriot, according to officials in Brussels, violated this principle himself when he said in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica that the treaty with the EU did not contain a specific commitment.

Disagree with interpretations

“The contract with the EU is very clear. Our commitment, I quote, is “to the best of our ability,” Mr Soriot said, adding that the Community was far behind the UK.

“We said that we would try to do what we could. But we couldn’t commit to the contract because we are three months behind the UK, ”Soriot explained, adding that the company had always known that it would be very difficult to fulfill wishes.

Rejoicing in Britain’s claim that AstraZeneca’s treaty with the UK would allow vaccines specifically produced in that country to remain there, Brussels is not taking advantage of it either: the conflict is escalating.

The European Commission has indicated that it is asking AstraZeneca to now publish a vaccine agreement with the EU, and Community representatives underline their disagreement with Soriot’s interpretations of certain provisions.

And EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides reiterated her belief in the expectations of the Community and its members that the vaccine manufacturer will fulfill its responsibilities.

“We are facing a pandemic, we are losing people every day. These people are not numbers,” Kiriakides said, noting that the EU had signed a specific Preliminary Price Agreement for the purchase of a product that did not yet exist at that time, in August.

The EU is asking AstraZeneca to now make public its agreement with the EU on vaccines, and EU representatives stress their disagreement with Soriot’s interpretations of certain provisions.

According to the Commissioner, these agreements are signed in order to ensure in advance that the company will take over the production capacity and will be able to supply as many of its units as ordered at the time of product approval, in this case the vaccine .

In his own interview, Poriot explained that the main problem was the inability to obtain a sufficiently effective so-called “active ingredient”, which is produced in factories in Belgium and the Netherlands.

This material, as soon as it is ready, travels to Italy and Germany, where it is diluted and dispensed in ampoules. “There are no problems with the second part of the process,” Soriot said.

The European Commission has stated that it does not rule out the possibility of sending inspectors to factories in Belgium to ensure that AstraZeneca does not mislead the Community.

S.Kyriakides: this is not a district slaughterhouse

This is due to another reason for the friction: Soriot’s statement, which was immediately endorsed with enthusiasm by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself, said that the contract with the United Kingdom stated that vaccines produced in that country would remain there.

EU access to UK-produced doses is said to be granted “but only later, when Britain reaches the required level of vaccination.”

“First, a contract was signed with the UK, and the UK of course said we would supply it first, which is fair. We will help the EU as soon as we can, “said P. Soriot.

However, EU officials, unlike AstraZeneca, say that the bloc’s deal with British and Swedish companies is not tied to specific plants.

S.Kyriakides: At the district slaughterhouse, such arguments might work, but not in terms of contracts and advance transaction pricing agreements.

The Community is said to have only sought to reach an agreement with companies that can produce the vaccine in large quantities, and it does not matter which factories are capable of producing how many doses. Kyriakides noted: “We reject such logic that the former is smarter.

At the district slaughterhouse, such an argument could work, but not in terms of contracts and APA. “

The commissioner stated that the contract with AstraZeneca included four plants in Europe, two of which were located in the UK.

According to Kiriakides, it is logical to expect that factories in Great Britain supply vaccines to EU countries, although AstraZeneca emphasizes that each supply chain is resistant to individual factories.

“There is no point of priority that means that UK-made vaccines must first be administered to the British population.” More than one plant is included in the contract because we would not buy vaccines from a company that has only one plant, ”said the commissioner.

Check customs documents

The conflict could escalate further, as the UK government already says factories in Oxford and Staffordshire will only be able to supply vaccines to other countries after producing 100 million. dose to the local population.

On the other hand, Brussels officials point out that AstraZeneca has received a high payment for vaccines, amounting to 336 million euros. euros. Part of this money was invested in the development of vaccines.

Furthermore, the EU cannot fail to act decisively as the Community, in which the vaccination campaign is not gaining momentum, is under increasing pressure from its citizens, who are facing a major crisis block image.

Perhaps that is why the European Commission, which does not hide the suspicion that AstraZeneca doses of vaccines for the EU have been sold to other countries, in particular the United Kingdom, is already analyzing customs documents.

“Customs data does not lie. You can be sure that we will find the information,” said an influential EU official, and Kiriakides added: “No company should have the illusion that we will not understand what is happening.”

Mr Liese: People in the UK are being vaccinated with a very good vaccine that is being made in Europe with European money.

The EU Health Commissioner and German Health Minister Jens Spahn have previously mentioned that the Community may be determined to control exports of vaccines produced in the bloc countries. Such a “transparency record” would further heat the atmosphere.

The Community wants assurances that vaccine doses produced at AstraZeneca’s plants in Belgium and the Netherlands will not travel to the UK in the future.

It is true that there is a danger that the doses of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines produced in Europe will no longer reach the British, which has already been eliminated by the London press. The Commission is working to allay those fears.

“People in the UK are being vaccinated with a very good vaccine, which is made in Europe with European money,” said Peter Liese, a German MEP who said the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.

“If there are those who think that European citizens should accept that this high-quality vaccine is being delivered to the UK and that being based in Britain considers us second-class, then the only solution is an ultra-rapid suspension from Pfizer / BioNTech exports of vaccines.

Then we will immediately find ourselves in the heat of a trade war. So let’s let that company (AstraZeneca, ed.) And the UK think better, ”added the politician.