The European Commission said Monday a shortfall in deliveries from Anglo-Swedish firm AstraZeneca had forced it to recalibrate its early coronavirus vaccination strategy.
The head of the Commission’s health directorate, Sandra Gallina, told MEPs the firm has been able to guarantee just 25 percent of the more than 100 million doses promised and that this was “a real issue” for the EU’s 27 countries.
“AstraZeneca was going to be the mass vaccine for quarter one,” she said, referring to the first three months of 2021.
“The fact that AstraZeneca is not there in the quantities that were stipulated in the contract is quite problematic for all member states.”
Furious Germany will not forget EU vaccine disaster when Brussels seeks more bailout money
The EU has only itself to blame for its vaccine saga, as its botched pandemic response exposes cracks in the union
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The EU’s vaccine disaster is not enough in itself to crystallise Germany’s mounting exasperation with Brussels and the European Institutions. But it vastly complicates the next big test of the Brussels regime: how to prevent another lost decade and a sovereign debt crisis in the Club Med bloc, and who will pay for the rescue.
02 Feb 2021 | News
EU’s lead COVID-19 vaccines negotiator defends contracts
Commission’s Sandra Gallina says spending more on advance purchase agreements would not have avoided the current supply problems, after days of criticism of the bloc s centralised procurement scheme
Head of the Commission s health directorate DG SANTE, Sandra Gallin. Photo: EU Commission.
The European Commission s lead official on COVID-19 vaccine contracts hit back on Monday at suggestions that slow negotiations and penny-pinching were partly to blame for a shortfall in vaccine supplies in Europe.
EU member states are far behind Israel, the UK and the US in rolling out vaccines, but the blame is squarely on slower than promised deliveries, rather than negotiating shortcomings, said the head of the Commission s health directorate DG SANTE, Sandra Gallina.
EU News
Vaccine strategy: Budget MEPs quiz EU health chief Sandra Gallina
In a debate on Monday, Budget Committee Members questioned the Commission’s Health Director-General on vaccine availability and the use of the EU budget.
In her introductory remarks, Sandra Gallina, Director-General for Health and Food Safety in the European Commission, explained what the Commission is doing to obtain enough vaccines to reach its objective of having 70% of the EU’s adult population inoculated by the summer. Contracts had to be negotiated rapidly, she said, with liability and indemnification being of paramount importance. The EU has “gone beyond the 12-million-vaccinations mark”, she underlined, saying that “there is no need to envy the US or Israel”.
EU paying full price for AstraZeneca vaccine - EU health official
FILE PHOTO: A vial and sryinge are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration reuters tickers
This content was published on February 1, 2021 - 18:23
February 1, 2021 - 18:23
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is paying a price similar to that of Britain for the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine, a senior EU health official said on Monday, after an uproar over a shortfall of doses and concerns that the bloc has negotiated a worse deal than rivals.
Sandra Gallina, director-general for health at the European Commission, answered a series of questions from EU lawmakers, with AstraZeneca vaccine deliveries set to be only 25-30% of what had been expected in the first quarter.