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AstraZeneca Plc’s coronavirus vaccine finally arrives in European Union countries as the bloc tries to speed up its inoculation campaign and put a period of crisis behind it.
France will use it from Saturday, with priority for health care workers, after the arrival of its first batch on Friday evening. Germany, Ireland, Spain and Austria will also start offering the shot, while Portugal will receive deliveries early next week.
Doses are mostly transported by truck via hubs across the continent, and their arrival is a welcome development for the EU, which has spent the past few weeks in a public row with Astra over vaccination targets. It eventually turned into a back-and-forth blame game, threats of protectionism and huge political mistakes that threatened the Brexit deal between the UK and the EU.
Even with improved deployment, governments remain concerned about delays as thousands of people still die every day. They are also sticking to lockdowns to control the spread of the virus, especially when new variants emerge.
Germany is likely to extend its Covid-19 restrictions for another two weeks when Chancellor Angela Merkel and state government leaders meet next week, sources familiar with the talks said. Greece Friday tightening of movement and purchasing restrictions.
According to Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, EU immunization progress so far lagging behind UK and US
Despite the slow start, the European Commission is sticking to a plan to have 70% of the adult population vaccinated by the end of the summer. He expects the pace to accelerate rapidly in the coming months, with shipments of at least 300 million doses in the second quarter.
Amid continuing concerns about the delays, a group of EU leaders urged European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen to quickly conclude talks with other vaccine developers, such as Novovax and Valneva. They also highlighted the risks surrounding Johnson & Johnson’s decision to ship vaccines to the United States for packaging.
The J&J product “could be a game-changer due to easier storage and transport as well as the single dose requirement,” executives said in the letter obtained by Bloomberg.
Astra’s shot is the third to be authorized by the European medicines regulator. It approved the vaccine from BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. in December, and that from Moderna Inc. last month.
Many countries have been cautious about the Astra jab, only recommending it for people under the age of 65. But governments are still counting on him to speed up the vaccination effort.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday he would allow the country to double vaccinations in February from what would have been possible with just Pfizer and Moderna. The Astra coup will initially be applied primarily to healthcare workers aged 64 years and under, allowing people over 65 to be vaccinated more quickly with the other two.
Austria is also accelerating. In Vienna, the additional supply means the city can administer 28,600 doses next week, twice as many as the week of February 1.
As governments try to emerge from the vaccine debacle, they also want to prevent high profile mistakes from undermining public trust. Spahn made the point on Friday, saying all approved products are also good for people under 65.
“With the three vaccines we have effective tools to fight this pandemic,” he said in Berlin. “We hope and expect more to follow soon. “
– With the help of Iain Rogers, Geraldine Amiel, Boris Groendahl, Joao Lima, Henrique Almeida, Nikos Chrysoloras, Paul Tugwell, Ellen Proper and Sotiris Nikas
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