Italy on Thursday blocked the export of 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca to Australia, becoming the first EU country to impose an export ban due to a shortage of vaccines in the block.
Why it matters: The controversial move presents several challenges for the distribution of vaccines – even among the richest countries in the world.
The state of affairs: AstraZeneca has already deteriorated with doses to the EU. The company says it will also deliver less than half of the doses originally promised in the second quarter.
- This has angered European leaders, who are under pressure due to a remarkably ineffective vaccination of vaccines so far. Only one dose was administered in the EU for every three in the US and every four in the UK, adapted for the population.
- It helps with the declaration of the decision of Italy, supported by the European Commission, to block a shipment of 250,000 doses en route to Australia from a US factory near Rome, where the bottles were filled.
- The move was made according to a system developed in January – amid a brutal dispute with AstraZeneca over access to doses produced in Britain – to block the export of vaccines if a company does not fulfill its obligations to the EU does not comply.
Still, but: The supply is not the only problem. EU countries, including Italy, are already sitting on hundreds of thousands of unused doses of AstraZeneca.
- There was a general feeling of hesitation about the vaccine, fueled in part by a faulty report on its effectiveness in a German newspaper and by French President Emmanuel Macron’s bizarre claim that it was “almost ineffective” in people over 65 .
- France and Germany only approved the vaccine for people over 65 this week after it was delayed due to insufficient data.
- By the numbers: France administered only 16% of the AstraZeneca doses it received last Friday, while Italy and Germany both used about 21%.
Send the news: Real-world data from the UK – which relies heavily on the homemade vaccine, developed at the University of Oxford – now suggest that the vaccine is very effective in preventing even after a single dose hospitalizations among the elderly.
Between the lines: EU countries have caused two international incidents, with the UK and now Australia, caused by access to a vaccine they rarely use.
- And all of this is happening at a time when countries around the world, many of which will rely on the AstraZeneca vaccine, have not had access to any vaccines at all.
What to look for: Italy’s decision also highlights the difficulties faced by countries relying on imports in receiving doses.
- Canada, for example, has ordered more doses than any other country, but these are relatively few.
- Meanwhile, the US, which according to Airfinity has the largest vaccine production capacity in the world, is on track to produce enough doses by May to cover its entire adult population.