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When the European Union (EU) had an emergency in procuring a vaccine for the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), it threatened to block exports to other regions.
The UK, which had already been out of the EU with Brexit, started immediately.
According to the UK Daily Guardian on the 25th (local time), the EU warned AstraZeneca that it would block the export of corona vaccine to non-EU member countries such as the UK.
This is because AstraZeneca is trying to delay the vaccine supply without sufficient explanation.
EU Executive Chairman Urzula von der Raien pressed for the fulfillment of his contractual obligations in a call with Pascal Sorio, CEO of AstraZeneca.
Chairman Fon der Leien reminded CEO Sorio, in particular that the EU has invested heavily in AstraZeneca, a spokesman said, asking “use all possible flexibility for rapid supply.”
The embers came out on the 22nd when AstraZeneca announced that its initial European supply would decrease due to production disruption.
Pfizer, a US pharmaceutical company, also announced that it will temporarily slow the supply of vaccines to Europe as it changes its manufacturing process to increase vaccine production.
Pfizer and AstraZeneca have vaccine production facilities in Belgium.
The British side immediately protested.
In British politics, there were voices saying that the EU is “grumpy” and is trying to divert the blame for a vaccine disruption, according to the British Daily Telegraph.
British officials were also caught in an emergency. This is due to concerns that the EU may block exports of AstraZeneca vaccines and also put a lock on Pfizer vaccine exports.
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriachides, after meeting with AstraZeneca officials, said that the company’s announcement of a delay in supply of vaccines was unacceptable and that “the EU will take whatever steps are necessary to protect its citizens.”
He did not say what measures to take, but he introduced that it has proposed a “transparency system” to member countries that allows pharmaceutical companies that produce Corona 19 vaccines in the EU to notify them in advance when exporting vaccines to third countries.
“We want the process to be clear and completely transparent when it comes to vaccine exports from the EU,” he said.
The EU approved the use of the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer with German Bioentech and began vaccination at the end of last month.
However, EU member states are voicing concerns and dissatisfaction, saying that the initial supply of vaccines is not meeting their expectations.
The Corona 19 vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca with Oxford University in the UK is currently being reviewed for conditional marketing approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the results are expected on the 29th.
The EU has previously signed a vaccine supply contract with Pfizer-Bioentech and AstraZeneca, as well as with US pharmaceutical companies Johnson & Johnson, French pharmaceutical companies Sanofi, UK GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), US Modena, and German CureVac. .
The EU Commission also recommended that member states tighten travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 mutant virus.
The EU Commission proposed measures such as refraining from travel for non-essential purposes, requiring all travelers to EU member states to undergo pre-gene amplification (PCR) testing, while quarantining those coming from areas where the mutant virus has spread.
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