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CANBERRA: Australia asked the European Commission to review a decision by Italy to block a shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca, while emphasizing on Friday (March 5) that the missing doses would not affect the launch of the inoculation program of Australia.
Italy, with the support of the European Commission, banned the planned export of some 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the drugmaker failed to meet its contractual commitments to the European Union.
“Australia has raised the issue with the European Commission through multiple channels and in particular we have asked the European Commission to review this decision,” Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters in Melbourne.
Hunt said Australia had already received 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, which would last until local production of the vaccine increases.
Australia began its inoculation program two weeks ago, vaccinating front-line health workers and older people with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, although doses of that vaccine are limited amid tight global supplies.
AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The world is in fairly uncharted territory today, and it is not surprising that some countries break the rule book when they find themselves in uncharted territory,” Australian Finance Minister Simon Birmingham told Sky News.
“This is a demonstration of how well Australia continues to be compared to the desperation of other countries.
READ: Australia receives AstraZeneca vials as COVID-19 vaccination campaign ramps up
Italy’s move came just days after Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who took office last month, told his fellow EU leaders that the bloc needed to speed up vaccines and crack down on pharmaceutical companies that don’t they delivered on the promised supplies.
EU countries started vaccines in late December, but they are moving at a much slower pace than many other nations, with officials blaming the slow progress in part on supply problems with key manufacturers.
Australian officials on Friday administered the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine to a doctor.
Australia ordered 53.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed in conjunction with the University of Oxford. Local pharmaceutical company CSL has secured the rights to manufacture 50 million of those doses in Australia and expects to launch the first batch by the end of March.
The locally produced doses will provide the backbone of Australia’s inoculation program, which officials hope to complete in October.
Australia is under less pressure than many other countries, having recorded just under 29,000 COVID-19 cases and 909 deaths. The lower numbers of infections and deaths have been favored by strict closures, rapid monitoring systems and border closures.
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