EU threatens ban on vaccine exports to UK in ‘fair share’ row
FRANCE and Germany lined up behind the EU yesterday ahead of tomorrow’s showdown summit that could ban vaccine exports to the UK.
Prime minister Boris Johnson spoke to both country’s leaders on Sunday in a bid to head off a vaccine war after European Commission president Ursula Van Der Leyen threatened to seize supplies heading for Britain.
Germany’s Angela Merkel warned she would demand a larger share from AstraZeneca, saying: ‘We are exporting to the rest of the world and other parts of the world are exporting nothing.’
Pfizer has delivered more than 9million doses to Britain but production problems at AstraZeneca plants have cut deliveries to the EU from 100million to 30million doses.
Europe’s health commissioner Sandra Gallina said: ‘We intend to take action because this is the issue that cannot be left unattended.’
Nearly half of Britain’s population has been vaccinated, compared with just 13 per cent in the EU.
The bloc has a stockpile of 14million unused AstraZeneca doses after pausing its rollout because of 25 blood clots in nearly 20million recipients, a move blamed for poor take-up of the drug. But the French Europe minister Clement Beaune said: ‘We want to avoid AstraZeneca doses produced in Europe going to Britain when we are not receiving anything.’
Mr Johnson has warned Britain’s vaccine rollout will be hit next month by a delay to 5million doses expected from an AstraZeneca plant in India. Now, 5million doses from a plant in the Netherlands are at risk, but the PM has insisted it would not delay his road map out of lockdown. Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands have warned the EU against a vaccine war with Britain.
Components for the Pfizer jab are made in the UK and shipped to Belgium but Mr Johnson said yesterday: ‘We in this country do not believe in blockades of vaccines or vaccine materials.’