AstraZeneca Says Will Supply 180 Million Vaccines For COVID-19, European Union Worried

AstraZeneca Vaccine. (Wikimedia Commons / Agencia Brasilia)

JAKARTA - COVID-19 vaccine producer AstraZeneca said it would send 180 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Europe in the second quarter of 2021, including 20 million vaccines to Italy. However, this has led EU officials to remain wary about vaccine supplies.

CEO and Head of AstraZeneca in Italy Lorenzo Wittum told the daily Il Corriere Della Sera, Italy will receive more than 5 million doses of vaccine by the end of March, less than the 8 million doses of vaccine previously agreed, but overall leads to a total of 25 million doses of vaccine in June.

The Italian health ministry on February 12 revised its vaccination plan, lowering the expected dose of AstraZeneca in the second quarter to around 10 million from the 18 million seen in an interim plan in January.

In a statement on Tuesday, the company said it aims to deliver 180 million doses to the European Union in the second quarter, half from factories outside Europe.

“AstraZeneca is behaving like an unreliable used car dealer. Getting reliable data from these companies is still a challenge", said EU lawmaker Esther de Lange.

The statement by the Vice President of the European People's Party, the largest in the European Union Parliament, referred to questions regarding the company's supply chain following the announcement of shipments from outside Europe.

EU officials involved in talks with the company said AstraZeneca did not provide clarity on which global sites the EU will supply. And, whether export restrictions, as well as regulatory issues, can hinder supply. The official said the announcement needed to be refined with a concrete commitment to make it credible.

A Commission spokesman said Thursday that the European Union is in talks with vaccine manufacturing companies to ensure timely deliveries of sufficient quantities.

Although AstraZeneca shipped 180 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the second quarter, it still lost its contractual obligation to deliver 300 million doses of vaccine by the end of June. If not increase supply in the first quarter which has cut to 40 million doses from 90 million doses and delivers 30 million doses since December.

Also, AstraZeneca and Pfizer had a 'clash' with the European Union regarding the supply of the COVID-19 vaccine in January 2021.