Shipment of Indian vaccines disrupts UK vaccination schedule

A late shipment of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine from India caused a drop in supplies in the UK, starting at the end of the month, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person, who did not wish to be identified because the details of the supply are private, said the vaccine doses made by one of AstraZeneca’s manufacturing partners, the Serum Institute of India, had been delayed.

It comes after the CEO of the Indian Vaccine Institute said earlier this week that his institution was facing pressure to prioritize India and other countries in urgent need of vaccines.

The supply crisis prompted the UK government to redirect its efforts and provide the remaining doses to those most at risk of severe forms of the Corona outbreak.

According to a source, the Indian Institute of Serology has already helped supply the UK this quarter and is expected to deliver 10 million of the 100 million doses to the UK as a whole.

The shortage comes after Britain announced a new milestone on Wednesday – more than 25 million people have now received the first dose of vaccines developed by the companies Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which make up about half of the UK’s adult population. United.

Second doses

Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawala said countries were clinging to their supplies and limiting access to materials to produce more. In an interview with Bloomberg, seen by Al Arabiya.net, he said the company had issued guidelines to prioritize India and other countries with high disease burdens.

The Serum Institute is responsible for providing more than half of the doses used so far in the WHO-supported Covax program, which aims to provide equitable access to the vaccine worldwide.

For his part, a spokesperson for the UK’s Department of Health and Social Affairs said the number of vaccinations performed over time will vary due to supply, but the country is still on track. to provide the first dose of the vaccine to those over 50 years of age in mid-April and to all adults at the end of July.

The news comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen threatened to halt vaccine exports to the UK as the EU grapples with its own shortage challenges.