Von der Leyen threatens AstraZeneca export ban over supply delays

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said AstraZeneca could face export bans to countries outside the European Union if the company does not speed up its delivery of vaccines to the bloc.

“We have the possibility to ban planned exports. That’s the message to AstraZeneca: you fulfil your contract with Europe first, before you start delivering to other countries,” Ms von der Leyen told a German newspaper on Saturday.

Ms von der Leyen said the contract between the EU and AstraZeneca clearly stipulates how many vaccines the EU is set to receive from AstraZeneca’s factories inside the EU and in the UK.

Ms von der Leyen said: “we didn’t get anything from the British, while we are delivering vaccines to them”. She said the commission had sent a “formal reminder” to AstraZeneca on this issue.

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“I can’t explain to European citizens why we are exporting millions of vaccine doses to countries that are producing vaccines themselves and aren’t sending us anything back,” she said.

The British government deny Brussels’s claim that London are operating a de facto export ban to achieve its vaccine success.

Ms von der Leyen’s warning comes as the EU struggles to accelerate its Covid-19 vaccination rollout at a time when many member states are facing a third coronavirus wave, causing some countries to introduce new restrictions.

US exports

Since February 1st, 41 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been sent from the EU to 33 countries, the largest chunk of which was sent to the UK, and some were sent to the US, which has an export ban on vaccines.

The US export ban is raising concerns about the EU’s access to the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is due for delivery from April.

AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine is one of three approved for use in the EU.

However, its usage has been overshadowed by several problems, including a slow start, recurring delivery problems and a temporary ban for several days in many EU countries earlier this week, after reports of blood clots in some recipients of the vaccine.

Most countries in the EU, including the Republic of Ireland, resumed giving AstraZeneca vaccines on Friday.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is cheaper and easier to store than the other two approved vaccines, is seen as critical to ending the pandemic.

Under the latest delivery figures, AstraZeneca is expected to deliver 30 million doses by the end of March, compared with the 90 million initially expected. Seventy million doses are now expected to be delivered between April and June, instead of the 180 million doses which were originally planned.

Pfizer, however, has increased its expected deliveries to 200 million between April and June and is expected to meet its 66 million dose order by the end of March. Moderna is set to meet its overall deliveries of 45 million doses by June, while 55 million jabs of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine are due between April and June.

All together, there would be enough vaccines delivered by June to vaccinate 260.5 million people. Roughly, that would be more than 70 per cent of the adult EU population, while Ireland’s allocated doses would vaccinate about 79 per cent of adults. - Agencies