EU hints it might not order more AstraZeneca jabs

Thierry Breton, the EU's internal markets commissioner, said Sunday that "nothing is decided" concerning the bloc's plans to open any further contracts with AstraZeneca.

"We're pragmatic. My priority, as far as the vaccines are concerned, is to ensure that the firms we have contracts with deliver them punctually," Breton told France's BFMTV television.

EU officials have been highly critical of AstraZeneca, which has faced significant delays in delivering the first batches of its vaccine to the bloc. Brussels had initially ordered 120 million doses of the jab for the 27 member states in the first quarter.

But the Anglo-Swedish drug maker "only delivered 30 million, thus creating the problems that everyone has seen," Breton said. Only 70 million of the 180 million doses ordered by the EU will be delivered in the second quarter, he added.

EU vaccine talks 'ongoing'

The EU currently has a portfolio of 2.3 billion doses from several companies, and the bloc is still negotiating more contracts — including with German biotech firm BioNTech and US pharma giant Pfizer.

"Nothing is decided. Talks are still ongoing," Breton said, regarding the AstraZeneca contract. He also stressed that any decision about ordering more vaccines from the company would not depend on "epidemiological or medical reasons."

The European Medicines Agency has found the AstraZeneca vaccine to be safe and effective for all adults. But many EU countries have restricted its use only to older people after a number of reported cases of a rare type of blood clot in younger vaccine recipients. Denmark is the only EU country to stop using the jab altogether.

France: New contract unlikely

France's industry minister, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, said Friday that while no decision had been taken, it was "highly probable" that no further AstraZeneca doses would be ordered. She told RMC radio that the EU had "not started discussions with Johnson & Johnson and with AstraZeneca for a new contract, whereas we have already started discussions with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna."

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen also said this week that the EU planned to order 1.8 billion doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine by 2023. She said they had proven themselves to be "reliable partners, who have honored their commitments and have reacted quickly with regard to our needs."

nm/aw (AFP, AP)