The temperature may have cooled slightly after a meeting on Wednesday night, which both sides said was constructive, but the problem has not yet been resolved and the stakes for EU countries are high.
“We regret the continuing lack of clarity in the delivery schedule and request a clear plan from AstraZeneca for the rapid delivery of the quantity of vaccines we reserve. [the first quarter]”she said on Twitter.
The Anglo-Swedish company committed to closer coordination after the meeting.
“We had a constructive and open conversation about the complexities of increasing the production of our vaccine and the challenges we face. We are committed to an even closer coordination to jointly map out a path for the delivery of our vaccine in the coming months,” said one spokesperson.
The numbers
The dispute started on Monday, when EU officials said they were told by AstraZeneca that production problems meant that the company would supply “considerably less” doses in the coming weeks than agreed.
The European Commission has ordered 400 million doses on behalf of EU member states and is prepared to start distributing them throughout the bloc as soon as the vaccine is approved, possibly this week.
“Pharmaceutical companies and vaccine developers have moral, social and contractual responsibilities that they need to fulfill,” Kyriakides told reporters on Wednesday. “The view that the company is not obliged to deliver [vaccines] … it is neither correct nor acceptable. “
What does AstraZeneca say?
“The contract with the UK was signed first and the UK, of course, said ‘you supply us first’, and that’s fair,” said Soriot. Three months later, when the European Union intended to be supplied “at about the same time” as the United Kingdom, AstraZeneca was unable to make that commitment.
“Our contract [with the European Union] it is not a contractual commitment. It is the best effort. Basically, we said that we will do our best, but we cannot guarantee that we will succeed. In fact, to get there, we are a little late, ”he said.
The European Union acknowledged that it has signed a “best effort” agreement with AstraZeneca.
It is unclear whether EU officials have more cards to play in relation to the contract dispute. An EU diplomat noted that the European Union was quick to initiate legal proceedings in the past, and would be instructing lawyers now if it believed that AstraZeneca had breached its contract.
Why can’t AstraZeneca produce more vaccines or divert supplies?
Soriot acknowledged in the interview that his company had problems at a large factory in Europe. He said that the initial phase of vaccine production is often “complicated” and that the company is “basically two months late” where it wanted to be.
“Would I like to do better? Sure. But, you know, if we deliver in February what we plan to deliver, it won’t be a small volume,” said Soriot. “We are planning to deliver millions of doses to Europe, it is not small.”
AstraZeneca said in a statement that it has built more than a dozen regional supply chains to produce its vaccine, collaborating with more than 20 partners in more than 15 countries.
“Each supply chain was developed with contributions and investments from specific countries or international organizations based on supply agreements, including our agreement with the European Commission,” he said.
The European Union suggested on Wednesday that doses produced at AstraZeneca’s factories in the United Kingdom should be used to fulfill its request. AstraZeneca says this can only happen after supplies from the UK are delivered.
“Once we get enough vaccinations in the UK, we can use this site to help Europe too,” said Soriot.
Why are the tensions so high?
The pandemic is still devastating Europe, and many countries are being criticized for the slow launch of vaccines.
Germany has marked a year since the virus’s arrival on Wednesday, with the country showing no signs of reducing infections. Earlier this week, Portugal reported a record number of daily deaths within 24 hours. Rigid locks are in place in the bloc’s countries.
Meanwhile, vaccine supplies in Europe are desperately low.
The situation is also dire in parts of Spain. The Madrid regional government decided to stop administering the first doses of vaccines in the next two weeks due to growing uncertainty about the supply situation.
“We urgently need more doses,” said regional vice president Ignacio Aguado.
As a result, the European Union and national governments are under enormous pressure.
“We are in a pandemic. We lose people every day. They are not numbers, they are not statistics, they are people, with families, with friends and colleagues ”, said Kyriakides.
– Luke McGee contributed reporting.