EU will not allow AstraZeneca exports amid controversy with UK: “What is produced in Europe will be distributed to Europeans”

EU will not allow export of coronavirus vaccine from pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca as long as the supply quantities signed in the contracts are not covered.

“As long as AstraZeneca does not fulfill its obligations, everything produced on European soil will be distributed to Europeans”, said the Commissioner responsible for the internal market, Thierry Breton, in the statements at the station RTL collected by Bloomberg. “If there are surpluses, they can go elsewhere”, has explained.

AstraZeneca has promised to deliver 70 million doses for the second trimesterBreton recalled, but for the moment covered only 30% of this figure, while it has fulfilled 100 per cent of the offer made in the UK.

The The EU exported around 40 percent of its productionincluding 20 million doses that left for the UK, He said. United Kingdom, in exchange, he did not export vaccines. Breton assured that, if it can, the EU will help the UK when it needs doses to deliver the second puncture in the time needed.

The EU plans to have produced 420 million doses by mid-July, enough to achieve herd immunity, said Breton, who believes that immunity is achieved when they have been vaccinated 70 percent of adults.

Shortages expected for second dose in UK

For its part, the British government assured this Sunday that it will have enough vaccines to administer the more than 26 million second doses it has pending., despite the reduction in supplies that he anticipates for the coming weeks.

“From the start, this has been the most important consideration in the design of our immunization program. Not only will we keep our promises about the first doses, but we we are going to make sure that people also get the second ”, affirmed to Sky News the Minister of Culture, Oliver Dowden.

The UK has inoculated a first injection of AstraZeneca or Pfizer preparations about 30 million people, but the second dose, which spices up twelve weeks, only 3.3 million.

Britain’s public health system has warned it expects a “Significant reduction” in the number of vaccines available In the next weeks.

England will take the first step towards a slow de-escalation severe restrictions he imposed in early January to prevent contagion of covid-19.

From this Monday, the rules on social gatherings abroad will be relaxed, although they will continue for now closed all non-essential establishments, including bars and hairdressers, and domestic and international travel for leisure purposes continue to be banned.

The epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse, one of the government’s advisers on pandemic measures, said BBC what is found “A little nervous about complete relaxation” measures that the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to obtain by the end of June.

“The idea that we can get out of it all of a sudden, all of a sudden, I think is too optimistic.”, he said, and opened the possibility of lifting the restrictions again “if things get worse”, despite the fact that the executive has assured that the de-escalation is “irreversible” on this occasion.

(With information from Europa Press and EFE)

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