EU: countries are fighting over the unequal distribution of vaccines, Pfizer in the lead
As reported by the Financial Time , a dispute broke out between EU member states over the assignment of the coronavirus vaccine also linked to the delays first, and then the blocking of Astra Zeneca supplies. Yet another division linked to the vaccine problem.
Leaders of a group of European states have written to the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission complaining about "huge disparities" in the distribution of vaccines between member states. The letter, signed by Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Slovenia , calls for a debate at the level of leaders. However, other Member States argued that these six Member States complain of negative results due only to their own ordering decisions. The commission defended the vaccine allocation system, saying that the allocation of doses had followed a "transparent process". The EU is grappling with the aftermath of a new round of AstraZeneca delivery delays as it struggles to continue its vaccination campaign. This problem now merges with the Astra Zeeca vaccine problems that have led to its blockade in many countries.
The British-Swedish company has confirmed to member states that it will only supply 30 million doses in the first quarter of the year, less than the expected figure of 40 million, a figure that was already a large reduction from. That number in itself was a big cut from the 100 million hits the EU had originally predicted by the end of March. Even worse is what will happen in the second quarter with deliveries of only 70 million doses instead of 180 million. The official excuse is linked to the difficulty of procuring precursors for vaccines at a time when many nations have blocked the export of these products. Then there were doubts about the side effects that led to a stop in various European countries and regions, lastly Germany.
The problem is that certain countries, for their own reasons, often linked to economic factors, had relied almost exclusively, or primarily, on Astra Zeneca, and had not placed sufficient orders on Pfizer or Moderna and therefore remained uncovered. The other countries remind them that this was their voluntary choice, but the letter of protest has now started and it will be discussed at the Council on 23-24 March which promises to be fiery.
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The EU article : countries are fighting over the unequal distribution of vaccines, Pfizer in the lead comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/ue-i-paesi-litigano-per-limpari-distribuzione-dei-vaccini-pfizer-in-testa/ on Mon, 15 Mar 2021 17:56:34 +0000.