AstraZeneca pulls out of EU meet for being questioned over delay in vaccine delivery

British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca has reportedly pulled out of talks with the European Union, where the company was being grilled over its vaccine delivery delays. The Associated Press quoted an EU official, who wants to remain anonymous, as saying that AstraZeneca has pulled out of the meeting. The official said that the bloc would insist AstraZeneca to return back to the talks once the firm's vaccine gets approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is expected to happen before the end of this month. 

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The EU's ongoing vaccination drive suffered a major setback last week when AstraZeneca informed that the distribution of vaccines will likely be delayed because of production issues. It came when the bloc was already dealing with delayed distribution from Pfizer-BioNTech, which is currently supplying vaccines to the EU for its inoculation campaign. AstraZeneca has said that production issues will likely mean that it will only be able to deliver 31 million doses to the EU in the first quarter, 40% less than its promised doses of 80 million. 

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'Delay due to issues at EU sites'  

EU claims that AstraZeneca is diverting its supplies to the United Kingdom and other markets, but the company says that the delay has occurred due to startup issues at European production sites. The European Union has already threatened to impose export controls with the Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen saying they will seek prior notification from manufacturers on to whom and where the vaccine doses are being delivered. This has received backing from major EU countries, including Germany, which has called for fair distribution of doses. 

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Meanwhile, Italy has threatened to take legal action against AstraZeneca if it fails to deliver promised doses on time, saying delays would impact the country's vaccination strategy and the lives of vulnerable people. Europe is way behind in vaccinating its population when compared to nations such as Israel, which has already inoculated more than 40 percent of its people. On papers, Europe has secured over 2 billion doses of vaccines from multiple manufacturers, way more than what is needed for its 450 million people. 

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AstraZeneca pulls out of vaccine delay meeting with European Union: Official