The European Union has warned to tighten the supply of Covid vaccines produced in the bloc, given contretemps with AstraZeneca over a cut in proposed supplies.
AstraZeneca told lastweek to the EU it was falling behind on its supply target owing to some production issues.
Earlier Pfizer-BioNTech also informed EU the supplies of the vaccine will be lower. It is slowing down the EU’s vaccine drive.
AstraZeneca row may also be adverse for the supplies to UK of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been developed by the US and Germany and Pfizer’s Belgian plant supplies the UK.
UK’s Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment Nadhim Zahawi commented on Tuesday that supplies were “tight” but hoped ans said,
“I’m confident that (AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech) will both deliver for us the quantities that we need to meet our mid-February target and of course beyond.”
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said companies making Covid vaccines in the EU would have to “provide early notification whenever they want to export vaccines to third countries.”
On the other hand, Zahawi warned against what he called “the dead end of vaccine nationalism”, also added, “No-one is safe until the whole world is safe.”
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