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In a first such move Italy became the first European Union country to block export of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia.
The bloc’s new regulations allow exports to be stopped if the company providing the vaccines has failed to meet its obligations to the EU and Italy used these regulations. The decision affects shipment of 250,000 doses of the said vaccine produced at an AstraZeneca facility in Italy.
There has been no official statements on the Italian move by Italy, the EU or AstraZeneca. The move has been backed by the European Commission, say reports. AstraZeneca is on track to provide only 40% of the agreed supply to member states in the first three months of the year. It has cited production problems for the shortfall.
In January, then Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described delays in vaccine supplies by both AstraZeneca and Pfizer as “unacceptable” and accused the companies of violating their contracts.
His successor, Mario Draghi, who took office last month, has prioritised ramping up the vaccination programme, and argued that the rules should be applied rigorously. The EU has been widely criticised for the slow pace of its vaccination programme.
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Under the EU vaccine scheme, which was established in June last year, the bloc has negotiated the purchase of vaccines on behalf of member states. Australia began its vaccination programme last week using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. It was due to start inoculations with the AstraZeneca jab this week.
