Photographer: Jean-Christophe Guillaume / Getty Images
Photographer: Jean-Christophe Guillaume / Getty Images
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the European Union does not want to launch a vaccine battle, despite the bloc’s warning that it will restrict exports of coronavirus vaccines to the United Kingdom
In an attempt to defuse tensions with Brussels, Johnson said avoiding blocking vaccine supplies is vital because immunization programs require countries to work together.
Boris Johnson on March 22.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
“I am comfortable talking to EU partners in recent months that they do not want to see blockades,” Johnson said at a news conference with broadcasters on Monday. “This is very, very important.”
He spoke after the EU has set restrictions on companies that it claims have not fulfilled delivery obligations for the bloc. The strain of the vaccine risks further damaging relations with London, already strained by Brexit, trade and tensions over Northern Ireland.
Astra Exports
The bloc is likely to reject export authorizations AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccines and ingredients for the UK until the drugmaker fulfills its contracts, according to a senior European official, who asked not to be named because the decisions are under consideration. A factory in the Netherlands and another in Belgium produce ingredients for the Astra shot.
The EU says the issue is one of reciprocity. The United Kingdom is the largest recipient of doses made in the EU, receiving 10 million of 42 million shots exported by the bloc so far.
“It is about ensuring that if we export vaccines to countries that also produce vaccines, we will also receive vaccines or products needed for vaccine production,” said European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer.
Despite the slow launch of vaccines in the EU, not all governments are in favor of export controls. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Monday that it would be a “setback”.
But he also noticed that Britain must face the situation, “that is that AstraZeneca vaccines made in Europe have been made easier to go to Britain, this needs to be recognized by the UK and reciprocated to some degree”
Meanwhile, with the increase in virus cases in the EU, governments have been forced to implement new blocks. Johnson warned that the UK may not escape the latest increase.
“People in this country should not be under any illusions that previous experience has taught us that when a wave hits our friends, it hits our beaches too,” he said. The United Kingdom is evaluating the next steps to ease the restrictions.
Prior to a meeting of EU leaders later this week, Johnson has discussed the vaccine issue with his colleagues, including Dutch premier Mark Rutte and Belgian Alexander De Croo, said a person familiar with the matter.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Johnson on Sunday. While her spokeswoman Martina Fietz said that Merkel seemed eager to calm down, she also noticed that Germany “supports the attempts of the EU commission to ensure that member states receive vaccines in accordance with the agreements signed”.
Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc. has warned that the free movement of supplies between the UK and the EU is critical to the production of its own vaccine. The manufacture of lipids – the fatty substance used to supply the genetic material at the heart of the vaccine that Pfizer manufactures with its German partner BioNTech SE – takes place in a secret location in the UK before shipping to the EU, where the vaccines are completed.
The Astra vaccine has been at the center of the EU’s vaccination problems since the first cut in delivery targets due to a production problem. More recently, his shot was temporarily suspended in much of Europe due to fear of blood clots.
While the EU drug regulator supported the vaccine last week, and US test results published Monday said there were no safety concerns, public confidence in the vaccine plummeted in Europe. This public concern could be more bad news for the EU’s vaccination campaign.
The EU is not the only one experiencing supply problems. The UK is facing a “significant” four-week cut in vaccine supply from Covid-19 from late March. A delayed shipment of the Astra vaccine from India and a batch that requires further testing are behind the disruption.
Edward Lister, one of Johnson’s closest advisers, is in India this week following the delay of the Astra doses reserved for the UK by the country’s Serum Institute. Johnson’s office said it was a pre-planned trip ahead of the premier’s visit to India next month, rather than an attempt to resolve the shortage.
– With the help of Suzi Ring, Richard Bravo, Kitty Donaldson, Alex Morales, Emily Ashton, Dara Doyle and Arne Delfs
(Updates with the Irish Prime Minister in the eighth paragraph)