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HEALTH-VIRUS-VACCINES-BRITAIN
AstraZeneca EU supply chain shortfall continues in second quarter
LONDON, Feb 24, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said
Tuesday its EU supply chains would only be able to deliver half of an
expected supply of Covid-19 vaccines to the bloc in the second quarter — but
that it would look to make up the shortfall from elsewhere.
A spokesman for the British drugs group told AFP AstraZeneca was “working
to increase productivity in its EU supply chain” and would use its “global
capability in order to achieve delivery of 180 million doses to the EU in the
second quarter”.
“Approximately half of the expected volume is due to come from the EU
supply chain” while the remainder would come from its international supply
network, he added.
The announcement follows controversy over deliveries of the AstraZeneca-
Oxford University jab to the European Union in the first quarter, which has
caused tension between the bloc and the pharmaceutical company.
Ahead of the EU’s approval of the vaccine at the end of January, the
British-Swedish company sparked fury among European leaders by announcing
that it would miss its target of supplying the EU with 400 million doses, due
to a shortfall at the firm’s European plants.
The disagreement also caused diplomatic tensions with Britain, which
definitively left the EU after 40 years of membership following a
transmission period at the end of 2020 — with Brussels implicitly accusing
AstraZeneca of giving preferential treatment to Britain at the expense of the
EU.
The UK government has vaccinated millions of Britons with the AstraZeneca
jab since late last year.
But the company only began shipping it to the EU in early February, after
the bloc’s drug regulator took its time over recommending its use.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has suffered a number of other setbacks — it was
temporarily excluded from South Africa’s immunisation campaign because of
concern it was less effective towards new virus variants there; and Germany’s
vaccine commission recommended it only for people aged 18 to 64 years old.
But more recently, World Health Organization experts recommended it for use
on people aged over 65 and in settings where new strains of the virus are
circulating.
The shot forms the bulk of doses being rolled out around the world —
especially in poorer countries — under the Covax programme.
It has attracted praise for its low cost relative to rivals and its ease of
storage — a regular refrigerator can be used.
AstraZeneca announced on February 11 it had seen its profits double in
2020.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0952 hrs