PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union will be able to meet its vaccination targets this quarter, despite delays in the delivery of AstraZeneca, as Pfizer is producing faster than planned, said EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton on Saturday. .
AstraZeneca said on Friday that it would try to deliver 30 million doses to the EU by the end of March, ahead of a contractual obligation of 90 million and an earlier pledge made last month to deliver 40 million doses.
Breton told French radio Europe 1 that the delay was unacceptable, but that for the time being there were no plans to sue the company.
“The good news is that while there are delays with AstraZeneca, we will not be delayed with our vaccination program in the first quarter,” said Breton.
“Pfizer is producing more, much more than planned and will deliver more to us,” he added.
EU leaders have been criticized for a slower distribution of vaccines than in other countries, such as Britain or the United States, due to a longer approval and purchasing process and repeated delays in delivery.
AstraZeneca’s new supply reduction target depends on the bloc’s drug regulator approving supplies from a factory in the Netherlands, an internal document showed, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Breton said AstraZeneca had problems with the tests, which was a sign of logistical problems, and urged its board to act.
He also criticized French Chief Executive Pascal Soriot for staying in Australia despite the problems, which, he said, meant he could visit company factories when Soriot did not.
“I’m not going to say that I know your factories better than they do, but I’m on site,” said Breton.
Reporting by Leigh Thomas, edited by Louise Heavens