[ad_1]
BUCHAREST: Pfizer halved the volume of COVID-19 vaccines it will deliver to some EU countries this week, government officials said on Thursday (Jan 21), as frustration over the unexpected cut in supplies of the American pharmacist.
Romania will get 50 percent of its planned volume this week and supplies will only improve gradually, and deliveries will not return to normal until the end of March, Deputy Health Minister Andrei Baciu told Reuters.
It was a similar situation in Poland, which received 176,000 doses on Monday, a drop of about 50 percent from expectations, authorities said.
The Czech government was preparing for the halt in recent weeks, slowing down its vaccination campaign just as the second dose of vaccination begins.
“We have to expect there to be a reduction in the number of open vaccination appointments in the next three weeks,” Health Minister Jan Blatny told reporters on Thursday, and Pfizer deliveries fell about 15 percent this year. week and up to 30. percent for the next two weeks.
READ: WHO plans large number of COVID-19 vaccine approvals for global deployment
READ: German fight against COVID-19 hit by Pfizer vaccine delay
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have declined to comment on the cuts beyond their statement last week, which announced cuts in deliveries as manufacturing increases in Europe.
Some countries believe they can handle it. Norway has an emergency reserve and will continue to administer doses as planned, the government’s public health body said.
The US drugmaker has told Bulgaria and Poland that it will replace the missing doses, senior officials said.
But Denmark’s Serum Institute said its 50 percent vaccine loss this week would lead to a 10 percent deficit for the first quarter.
With the region’s governments still reeling from surprise cuts, officials say the cuts are undermining their efforts to vaccinate their citizens and tame the pandemic that has killed more than 2 million people.
On Wednesday, Italy threatened legal action against Pfizer.
READ: Oxford Scientists Prepare Versions of COVID-19 Vaccine to Combat Emerging Variants: Report
In Hungary, where authorities gave the go-ahead for the use of Britain’s AstraZeneca and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccines ahead of the EU’s drug regulator, a senior official asked Brussels to try to ensure that deliveries from Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers will follow schedule.
“We would be happy if the (European) Commission could take action as soon as possible to ensure that Pfizer and other manufacturers switch deliveries,” said Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas.
The problem has also spread to countries outside the trading bloc: Canada is facing delays as is Switzerland, where the mountainous canton of Grisons received just 1,000 shots from Pfizer this week, well below the 3,000 it had been anticipating.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
