BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe’s struggle to secure the supply of the COVID-19 vaccine intensified on Thursday, when the European Union warned pharmaceutical companies like AstraZeneca that it would use all legal means or even block exports, unless they agreed to deliver the vaccines as promised.
The EU, whose member states are far behind Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States in the distribution of vaccines, is struggling to obtain supplies, while the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the West are delaying deliveries to the bloc due to production problems.
As vaccination centers in Germany, France and Spain canceled or delayed consultations, the EU publicly rebuked Anglo-Swedish pharmacist AstraZeneca for failing to deliver and even asked if she could divert supplies from Britain.
European Council President Charles Michel said in a letter to four EU leaders that the EU should explore legal means to ensure the supply of contracted vaccines if negotiations with companies about delayed deliveries are unsuccessful.
“If no satisfactory solution is found, I believe that we must explore all options and make use of all legal means and coercive measures at our disposal under the Treaties,” he said in the January 27 letter.
EU rules on monitoring and authorizing COVID-19 vaccine exports in the 27-country bloc could lead to a blockage of exports if they violate existing contracts between the vaccine manufacturer and the EU, an EU official said.
The European Commission must define the criteria against which these exports will be assessed on Friday.
VACCINE CRUNCH
Global mass vaccination is fueling tensions around the world, as big powers buy bulk doses and poorer nations try to collect surplus supplies.
Israel is by far the world leader in vaccine distribution per capita, followed by the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Bahrain and the United States. Behind them are Italy, Germany, France, China and Russia.
Both Pfizer based in New York and AstraZeneca, based in Cambridge, England, had production problems.
AstraZeneca’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, said the EU was late to conclude a supply contract, so the company did not have enough time to resolve production problems at a vaccine factory run by a partner in Belgium.
The European Commission has asked Belgian authorities to inspect production at the factory, Belgium’s Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAGG) said on Thursday.
Britain, which has repeatedly praised its progress in the distribution of vaccines since it left the orbit of the EU on January 1, said its deliveries must be honored.
“I think we need to make sure that the vaccine supply that has been purchased and paid for, purchased for those in the UK, is delivered,” Cabinet Minister Michael Gove told Radio LBC.
European regulators are due to decide on Friday whether to approve the AstraZeneca injection. The vaccine committee in Germany said that this vaccine should only be administered to people aged between 18 and 64 years.
“Currently, there is not enough data available to assess the vaccine’s effectiveness from the age of 65,” said the committee, also known as Stiko, in a draft resolution made available by the Ministry of Health on Thursday.
Johnson said British health officials believe the vaccine is safe and works for all age groups.
CANCELED APPOINTMENTS
In Hauts-de-France, in northern France, the country’s second most populous region, several vaccination centers were no longer scheduling a first injection. In several other regions of France, some online booking platforms have closed booking options.
The Spanish regions of Madrid and Cantabria also stopped the first vaccinations and were using the remaining doses to administer the second injection to those who took the first.
Portugal, where infections and deaths reached record levels after Christmas, said delays in delivery mean that people who have priority – including healthcare professionals – will be fully vaccinated only in April, about two months later than originally planned.
The Netherlands will also find it difficult to execute its vaccination program on time, after having strongly invested in AstraZeneca. She ordered 11.7 million doses, of which 4.5 million were due in March.
Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, last week postponed the opening of its vaccination centers until February 8, while the state of Brandenburg also had to postpone vaccination appointments originally scheduled for late January due to delivery delays.
AstraZeneca is prepared to publish the delivery contract it has with the European Union and intends on Friday to submit proposals to the European Commission on which sensitive parts will be edited, said Frankfurter Allgemeine.
Reporting by Emma Thomasson and Paul Carrel in Berlin and Matthias Blamont in Paris and Kate Holton, Paul Sandle and Alistair Smout in London, Nathan Allen in Madrid, Victoria Waldersee in Lisbon, Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam; Written by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Keith Weir, Nick Macfie and Frances Kerry