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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has threatened to block vaccine exports to the UK and other countries with markedly higher launches of coronavirus attacks.
the European Union delivery COVID-19 vaccines has been slower compared to the Implementation in the UK, where nearly 25 million adults have received their first dose.
It has decided not to approve vaccines in an emergency, as has the UK regulator, the Medicines and Health Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
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With the EU facing a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic and less than a tenth of its population vaccinated, von der Leyen accused AstraZeneca, which helped develop the University of Oxford vaccine, of having “underproduced and underdelivered” to the block.
It warned that it was “ready to use whatever tools we need” to ensure that “Europe gets its fair share.”
“We are in the crisis of the century,” he said at a press conference.
“If this situation does not change, we will have to reflect on how to export to vaccine-producing countries, depending on their level of openness.
“We will reflect on whether exports to countries that have higher vaccination rates than we do continue to be proportionate.”
The 27-nation bloc has faced an acute shortage of COVID-19 vaccinations for some time.
Ms Von der Leyen spoke as six EU countries complained about reduced deliveries that are hampering the bloc’s troubled vaccination program.
Laurence Norman, a journalist for The Wall Street Journal, asked why the Commission was effectively sparking a “vaccine war with the UK” over exports of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, given that a large number of doses are unused in some countries. Member States due to concerns about side effects.
In response to his suggestion that her comments were designed to distract from the bloc’s slow launch of vaccines, she responded that she wanted to highlight the need for “reciprocity.”
And he insisted: “I trust AstraZeneca, I trust vaccines.”
Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine doses for Europe and the UK are being produced at BioNTech’s German manufacturing sites as well as Pfizer’s Belgium manufacturing site.
Ms Von der Leyen said the EU has granted 314 export applications for vaccines and has only rejected one since the authorization was introduced on February 1.
He said the vaccine flow was smooth with the United States, but expressed frustration at the lack of deliveries of the Oxford vaccine from Britain:
“We are still waiting for the doses to come from the UK,” he said.
The EU chief has been under pressure over the EU’s handling of the bloc’s vaccination rollout, and Brussels has recently become embroiled in a bitter dispute with drugmaker AstraZeneca.
The dispute, which at one point saw the EU controversially threatening to void the Brexit deal with the UK over the Irish border, came after AstraZeneca said the initial amount of doses it could supply to the EU would be less than than thought, due to manufacturing. issues.
Ms Von der Leyen has previously admitted that a country on its own, such as the UK, can act as a “speedboat” compared to the EU “tanker” in delivering coronavirus hits.
However, his latest comments, which suggest that the EU will seek to safeguard alarming vaccine doses for its own citizens, runs the risk of escalating tensions once again with the UK.
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February: EU chief ‘regrets’ vaccine export row
Downing Street urged the EU to “honor its commitment” not to restrict vaccine exports when asked by journalists about the European Commission director’s comments.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “I would point you to the conversation the prime minister had with Ursula von der Leyen at the beginning of this year. It confirmed then that the focus of its mechanism was on transparency and was not intended to restrict the exports of companies where they are fulfilling their contractual responsibilities.
“It remains the case where we would expect the EU to continue to deliver on its commitment.”
The EU’s slow vaccination campaign also threatens to delay the bloc’s proposals to create a vaccine passport that allows people to travel more freely in time for the summer holidays.
Your “digital green pass” would provide proof that a person has been vaccinated, as well as test results for those who have not yet been inoculated and information about recovery for people who have had COVID-19.
Some southern European countries, such as Spain and Greece, support the measure that would unblock the bloc’s tourism sector, which has been severely affected by the pandemic.
But others, including France and Belgium, have raised concerns that facilitating travel only for vaccinated people would be unfair.
