Plan to fight vaccine nationalism

Ministers are working on plans to accelerate the onshoring of vaccine production to make Britain more self-sufficient amid fears of rising vaccine nationalism.

The news came as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, upped the ante yesterday in an ongoing dispute with AstraZeneca, threatening to block exports from the bloc if the pharma firm did not start meeting its delivery targets.

Clement Beaune, France’s European affairs minister, reiterated the country’s support for von der Leyen’s position and insisted that Europe must ‘‘defend its interests’’.

Under a plan hatched in Whitehall, ministers are now working at pace on bringing more production onshore to prevent the risk that other countries could disrupt the process of getting jabs into British arms.

A No 10 source said: ‘‘There is a lot of domestic production already. We are always looking at ways we can increase vaccine production in the UK.

‘‘The Government is looking at ways vaccine supplies can be increased all the time.’’

Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, is understood to have held talks with Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccines minister, on how to accelerate production. The EC has been in a standoff with AstraZeneca since January when it became clear that the SwedishBritish company would not meet delivery pledges made in its purchase contract.

One Cabinet minister warned that the disparity between protection against the virus in the UK and on the Continent would only increase as the vaccine rollout continued.

The minister said: ‘‘The EU has monumentally ballsed this up. Madness! – And then to play games and have a pop at AstraZeneca through bitterness and opportunism.

‘‘And now it is coming back to bite them because they cannot get their population to take it.’’