[ad_1]
At Thursday’s summit, EU leaders raised the tone against Astra Zeneca and threatened to halt all exports of Astra Zeneca’s vaccine, provided the company fails to meet its commitments to the EU.
Astra Zeneca reportedly delivered 70 million doses of vaccine in the first quarter of this year. A month ago the news came that there will only be 30 million doses.
Yesterday, just days before the end of the quarter, it was clear that Astra Zeneca has only delivered 20 million of the promised 30 million doses.
Therefore, it has been urgent for Astra Zeneca that the plant in the Netherlands be approved by the EU Medicines Agency in order to be able to distribute doses from there to the EU. The factory has the capacity to produce five million doses per month.
The UK also wants vaccines from the Dutch factory and the EU’s announcement that it will stop all exports of Astra Zeneca vaccines from there has been viewed by the British as a declaration of war.
Talks are now taking place between the EU and the UK to resolve the conflict.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said yesterday after the EU summit that he is willing to stop all exports from the Leiden factory, but that he hoped a solution had been reached before it became relevant.
The vaccine made in the Netherlands must be shipped, either to Italy or the UK, to be bottled.
Astra Zeneca has already transported vaccines from there to Italy, where Italian police during a raid last weekend discovered 29 million doses of vaccine, of which 16 million are destined for the European market. Now that the factory in the Netherlands has been approved by the European Medicines Agency, those doses can be delivered, and Astra Zeneca can deliver on the promise of 30 million doses to the EU before the end of the month, unless it pulls and loosens. with Great Britain puts an end to it.
