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The AstraZeneca Plc coronavirus vaccine is finally reaching the countries of the European Union, while the bloc is trying to accelerate its inoculation campaign and put a crisis period behind it.
France will use it from Saturday, with priority for health care workers, after their first batch arrived on Friday night. Germany, Ireland, Spain and Austria will also start offering the dose, while Portugal will receive deliveries at the beginning of next week.
The doses are transported mainly by truck through hubs across the continent, and their arrival is a welcome development for the EU, which has spent the past few weeks in a public dispute with Astra over vaccine targets. This turned out to be a game of accusations of coming and going, threats of protectionism and huge political mistakes that threatened the Brexit agreement between the UK and the EU.
Even with improved deployment, governments remain concerned about delays, as thousands still die daily. They are also using blockages to control the spread of the virus, especially when new variants appear.
Germany is expected to extend its Covid-19 restrictions for another two weeks, when Chancellor Angela Merkel and state government leaders meet next week, people familiar with the discussions said. Greece on Friday stricter restrictions on movement and shopping.
According Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, the EU’s vaccination progress is far behind the UK and the US
Despite the slow start, the European Commission is following a plan to vaccinate 70% of the adult population by the end of the summer. The pace is expected to accelerate rapidly in the coming months, with deliveries of at least 300 million doses in the second quarter.
Amid continued concern about delays, a group of EU leaders urged European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen to quickly conclude negotiations with other vaccine developers, such as Novovax and Valneva. They also highlighted the risks surrounding Johnson & Johnson’s decision to ship vaccines to the U.S. for packaging.
The J&J product “could be a potential game changer due to the ease of storage and transport, as well as the need for just one dose,” said the leaders in the letter obtained by Bloomberg.
Astra’s shot is the third to be released by the EU drug regulator. She approved the vaccine from BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. in December, and Moderna Inc. last month.
Many countries have been wary of the Astra jab, recommending it only for children under 65. But governments still rely on it to speed up the inoculation effort.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday that he would allow the country to double vaccinations in February compared to what would be possible only with Pfizer and Moderna. The Astra injection will initially be applied mainly to healthcare professionals aged 64 and younger, allowing those over 65 to be vaccinated more quickly with the other two.
Austria is also growing. In Vienna, the additional supply means that the city will be able to administer 28,600 doses in the next week, double the week of February 1.
As governments try to overcome the vaccine disaster, they also want to prevent serious errors from undermining public confidence. Spahn emphasized this point on Friday, saying that all approved products are equally good for children under 65.
“With the three vaccines we have effective tools to fight this pandemic,” he said in Berlin. “We hope and hopefully even more soon. “
– With the assistance of Iain Rogers, Geraldine Amiel, Boris Groendahl, João Lima, Henrique Almeida, Nikos Chrysoloras, Paul Tugwell, Ellen Proper and Sotiris Nikas