Italy is blocking the export of a shipment of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines to Australia due to the company’s failure to deliver all of its promised doses to the European Union.
Two sources told Reuters for a report published Thursday that the decision is supported by the European Commission.
AstraZeneca wanted Italy to send 250,000 doses of the vaccine to Australia from a factory near Rome, sources told Reuters. But the The EU gave countries the right to block shipments of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed in coordination with the University of Oxford, after disputes arose, since the company could not deliver the promised quantity of doses of the vaccine.
In January, AstraZeneca reduced its previously promised 80 million doses to 31 million. The reduction came at a time when the EU was already being accused of having a slow release of vaccines.
In response, the European Commission told countries that they were allowed to block vaccine shipments.
The Hill contacted AstraZeneca for further comments.
Countries are rushing to vaccinate their populations, as inoculation is seen as the key to reopening companies and returning to pre-pandemic economic conditions.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet been approved for use in the United States. The three vaccines currently available in America are pharmaceuticals Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and, more recently, Johnson & Johnson.