Vaccine wars: EU threatens to limit exports in line with AstraZeneca

• The EU has threatened to limit exports of coronavirus vaccines to other countries.
• The problem comes after British drug company AstraZeneca said EU countries will receive millions of injections less than they requested.
• The dispute arises amid growing EU concerns about falling behind in the race to vaccinate its population.
• Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.

The EU threatened to limit exports of coronavirus vaccines to other countries after British drug company AstraZeneca said EU countries would receive millions of vaccines less than they had requested.

EU officials issued the warning after AstraZeneca, which makes COVID-19 jabs in the UK, last week informed Brussels that it would be delivering “considerably” less jabs in the coming weeks than the bloc ordered due to production problems.

In response, EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides indicated that Brussels would consider placing export limits on EU-made coronavirus vaccines.

This includes the Pfizer vaccine, which is made in Belgium and has been instrumental in the UK’s vaccination efforts.

“Vaccine developers have social and contractual responsibilities that they need to respect,” Kyriakides tweeted on Monday after meetings with AstraZeneca employees.

She added: “We want transaction clarity and full transparency regarding the export of vaccines from the EU.

“In the future, all companies that produce Covid-19 vaccines in the EU will have to provide advance notification whenever they want to export vaccines to third countries.”

In response, UK vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said that while supplies of the vaccine are “tight”, he was confident that the UK would receive enough doses to meet its goal of vaccinating 15 million people by mid of February.

“I am confident that we will meet our mid-February target and continue beyond that,” he told the BBC on Tuesday.

The discussion comes amid growing concerns in the EU about the supply of vaccines. The European Medicines Agency first approved the Modern vaccine for use in member states a month ago and has since approved the Pfizer vaccine, but the bloc’s vaccination rate has lagged far behind other countries, including the United Kingdom.

AstraZeneca’s warning that it would not be able to comply with the entire EU order comes after Pfizer also announced a temporary reduction in the supply of vaccines to the EU in early January.

Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, supported the EU’s proposal to limit vaccine exports on Tuesday.

“I can understand that there are production problems, but that should affect everyone in the same way,” said broadcaster ZDF, according to Reuters.

“It’s not about Europe first, it’s about Europe’s share,” he said, before saying that export limits should be imposed on vaccines, according to Reuters.

Both AstraZeneca and the German Ministry of Health he also denied reports in the German media that the AstraZeneca vaccine was ineffective in people over 65.

The German health ministry said the reports appeared to be based on an incorrect reading of the data. Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn said he expected the EU vaccine to be approved on Friday.