Italy blocks shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines to Au …

Italy export blocked to Australia 250 thousand doses of vaccines developed by the laboratory AstraZeneca against covid-19. The decision was taken on the basis of European Union regulations on the control of these shipments. Although the measure was taken by the Italian authorities, the bloc has provided support.

As it was circulated, Astrazeneca had sent the country a request for authorization to export vaccines to Australia. In principle, it was accepted, but after several meetings with the European Commission, the government decided against it.

The move stems from a new regulation approved by the EU which, on January 28, under heavy pressure due to AstraZeneca’s difficulties in distributing the negotiated number of doses of the anti-virus vaccine, an export surveillance system announced. of the product.

This system, called the “Export Transparency and Licensing Mechanism”, is formally intended to collect information on the production of the covid-19 vaccine to be shipped outside the EU.

EU officials said at the time that it was an “emergency measure” and that it was not aimed at any particular laboratory, but clearly offered to member states the possibility of opposing shipments outside the bloc if they were not considered “legitimate”.

Yes indeed, Italy it is the first EU country to use this prerogative. “The Italian proposal to refuse authorization has had the support of the European Commission,” said a diplomatic source, adding that the Italian Foreign Ministry “issued the export refusal on the same day that the Commission informed Italy that he agreed with the measure. “

In Italy1.52 million people have already been vaccinated, mainly health workers and the elderly. With a population of around 60 million, the country has already applied 4.8 million doses in total.