Coronavirus: The European Union stresses the export of the vaccine, amid a dispute with AstraZeneca
The European Union has warned it will tighten rules on exports of Covid vaccines, amid a row with AstraZeneca over a cut in planned supplies to the 27-nation bloc.
Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said the economic union "will take whatever action is required to protect its citizens.
Last week, AstraZeneca told the European Union that it had missed its target of the show due to production problems.
The European Union has been criticized for the slow introduction of vaccines, which is buying it on behalf of all member states.
The dispute could also affect supplies to the UK from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine developed by the US and Germany. The Belgian manufacturer Pfizer supplies the United Kingdom.
"Our vaccine supplies and scheduled deliveries will fully support delivery of the initial dose to all or any four priority groups by February 15," a government spokeswoman said.
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Vaccination programs have already been slowed down in some European Union members due to cutting off deliveries of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, with some countries threatening legal action.
What did the European Union Health Commissioner say?
Kyriakides wrote on Twitter that Monday's talks with AstraZeneca "led to dissatisfaction with the lack of clarity and insufficient explanations."
Kyriakides said that the European Union has requested "detailed planning for the delivery of vaccines", and the next meeting with AstraZeneca will be held on Wednesday.
With our Member States, we have requested from AZ a detailed planning of vaccine deliveries and when distribution will take place to Member States. Another meeting will be convened on Wednesday to discuss the matter further.
— Stella Kyriakides (@SKyriakidesEU) January 25, 2021
AstraZeneca hasn't made any public comments yet on the latest developments.
What about AstraZeneca's delivery delay?
AstraZeneca said last week that the production problem means the number of initial doses available to EU member states will be less than expected.
AstraZeneca was due to deliver about 80 million doses to 27 countries by March, according to an unnamed official who spoke to the Reuters news agency.
Officials have not publicly confirmed the size of the shortfall, but the official told Reuters that shipments would drop to 31 million - a 60% cut - in the first quarter of this year.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been approved by the European Union's Medicines Regulatory Authority, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), but it is expected to get the green light at the end of this month.
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