The European Union confirmed on Monday that it will take legal action against AstraZeneca over deficiencies in the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.
According to EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides, via Twitter on Monday that ‘the EU’s priority is to ensure the smooth distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine so that the health of EU citizens can be protected.
However, due to the actions of the vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca which did not meet the standards, the distribution of the vaccine was stunted. Further Kyriakides, this is the reason why the European Commission decided together with all Member States to continue taking legal action against AstraZeneca.
"Every dose of vaccine is important. Every dose of vaccine can save lives ", he added.
The EU and the manufacturers of these vaccines have disagreed. Anglo-Swedish company AstraZeneca said it was unable to provide the number of vaccines as requested by the EU in either the first quarter or the second quarter. A string of these, it has slowed the use of the Covid-19 vaccine in 27 EU countries.
In March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her frustration with AstraZeneca in a press conference. He expects that it will receive 70 million doses from the company in the second quarter, down from the 180 million originally expected. The EU also expects 120 million doses in the first three months of this year, but only receives around 30 million doses.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot had told EU lawmakers in February that low production yields at EU plants had caused delays.
