Italy Blocks The Export Of 250 Thousand Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine To Australia

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine (Wikimedia Commons / Agencia Brasilia)

JAKARTA - Italian authorities, through the authorization of the European Union, blocked the export of 250 thousand doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Australia, on Thursday, February 4 local time.

The effort to block 250 thousand doses of this vaccine is related to the escalation of the dispute between the European Union and the giant drug producer who is also the producer of the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca.

A spokesperson for the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi Paola Ansuini confirmed this to CNN.

"Italy and the European Commission have approved the action. This is the first time such a European Union action has been used for a vaccine", he said.

It was first reported by the Financial Times. In late January, intense and public fighting erupted between the European Union and AstraZeneca over delays in vaccine deliveries.

AstraZeneca told the European Union that it would be sent tens of millions of fewer doses of the COVID-19 vaccine than agreed for delivery by the end of March.

The European Commission then adopted new measures that give member states the power to limit the export of the COVID-19 vaccine outside the European Union, in certain situations.

The mechanism should not affect humanitarian assistance or COVAX, a global initiative aimed at distributing about 2 billion vaccines to poor countries.

Meanwhile, the launching of vaccines in European Union countries did not go as planned, frustrating several member countries and asking for help from other countries.

Only 5.5 percent of the European Union's 447 million population has received the first dose of vaccine, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).

On Thursday, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs outlined its decision to block AstraZeneca from exporting the vaccines, citing the company's delays in supplying its vaccines to Italy and the European Union, and noting that Australia is not considered a vulnerable country by the European Union.

According to the ministry's statement, Italy had previously allowed the company to export "a small number of samples intended for scientific research activities". However, the approval was blocked after raising questions, as the vaccine reached 250,700 doses.

The statement stated that the number of doses proposed to obtain export authority was higher than the number of vaccine doses given to Italy and other European Union countries. AstraZeneca declined to comment on the Italian decision.

"The European Commission is not against Italy's decision to impose a vaccine export ban on Australia, an EU official told CNN Thursday

The official is closely involved with the trade process within the Commission but is not authorized to speak publicly about closed meetings or trade documents between the Commission and member states of the European Union.

Under European Union procedures, companies wishing to export vaccines from an EU member state must notify that member country. Member countries examine criteria for exports and make draft decisions on whether to approve exports.

European Commissioners then have one working day to approve, change or reject the decisions of member states. Member countries must follow the Commission's decisions.

European Union officials said EU member states approved 174 requests for vaccine export authorization during the period from January 30 to March 1, 2021.

"The export relates to the following export destinations: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Japan, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Uruguay", said the official.