Sign up here for our daily coronavirus newsletter on what you need to know, and subscribe to our Covid-19 podcast for the latest news and analysis.
AstraZeneca Plc’s coronavirus vaccine is finally arriving in European Union countries as the bloc tries to speed up its vaccination campaign and a crisis-stricken period behind it.
France will use it from Saturday, with a priority for health care workers, after the first group arrived there Friday night. Germany, Ireland, Spain and Austria will also offer the shot, while Portugal will receive deliveries early next week.
The doses are mostly transported by truck 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 vaccine targets. It eventually spilled over into a back-and-forth debt game, threats from protectionism and major political mistakes that threatened the Brexit agreement between the UK and the EU.
Although implementation is improving, governments remain concerned about delays as thousands still die daily. They also stick with the latch to control the spread of the virus, especially as new variants emerge.
Germany is likely to trust the Covid-19 restrictions by another two weeks when Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of the state government meet next week. Greece on Friday tightened restrictions on movement and shopping.
According to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, EU Vaccine Progress So Far Behind the UK and US
Despite the slow start, the European Commission is sticking to a plan to vaccinate 70% of the adult population by late summer. The rate is expected to increase rapidly in the coming months, with deliveries of at least 300 million doses in the second quarter.
Amid constant concerns about delays, a group of EU leaders urged European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen to quickly end talks with other vaccine developers, such as Novovax and Valneva. They also highlight the risks surrounding Johnson & Johnson’s decision to send vaccinations to the US for packaging.
The J&J product could be a potential game changer due to easier storage and transportation, as well as the requirement of only one dose, ” the leaders said in the letter obtained by Bloomberg.
Astra’s shot is the third to be removed by the EU’s drug regulator. It has the vaccine of BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. approved in December and last month from Moderna Inc.
Many countries have been wary of the Astra jab and recommend it only to those under 65 years of age. But governments are still counting on speeding up the vaccination.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday it would allow the country to double vaccinations in February from what would only be possible with Pfizer and Moderna. The Astra shot will initially be applied mainly to health workers elderly 64 and younger, so that those older than 65 can be vaccinated faster with the other two.
Austria is also catching up. In Vienna, the additional offer means the city can administer 28,600 doses next week, twice as much as in the week of 1 February.
As governments try to move away from the vaccine debacle, they also want to prevent the high-profile mistakes from undermining public confidence. Spahn stressed this on Friday, saying all approved products are equally good for under 65s.
“With all 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