Government refuses to join ‘restrictive’ EU vaccine roll-out scheme

THE Government has turned down the chance to join a EU coronavirus vaccine scheme after ministers expressed concern over “costly delays”, The Daily Telegraph understands. Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, is believed to have walked away from the plan after failing to secure “sufficient assurance” that the UK would receive the number of vaccines it needs on time.

The European Commission is expected to be notified today.

The UK has for weeks been holding talks with Brussels over the EU scheme, which involves using the bloc’s collective bargaining power to strike deals with international drugs companies.

With trials under way across the world, there is expected to be fierce global competition to secure supplies when a successful vaccine is found.

The decision is likely to provoke a backlash among opposition MPS, who believe that the Government is reluctant to take part in EU projects after

Brexit. However, Government sources last night told The Telegraph that officials believe signing up could delay the roll-out of a successful vaccine in the UK by up to six months as negotiations on distribution took place.

They added that countries that opted in would also be subject to a so-called “volume ceiling” or cap on the number of doses allocated to each member state. Although the EU says that “collective purchasing power” will enable participants to drive down costs, officials argue the benefits are “limited” as most pharma firms are offering the UK similar prices to other countries.

Due to the UK no longer being an EU member state, it would also have no say in which companies are involved in negotiations, pricing or the timetable for delivering the vaccine, according to insiders. “The terms just weren’t right for us. The EU scheme wouldn’t allow the UK to do anything more than it currently is,” one source said.

The UK has already secured a bilateral deal with Oxford University and the pharma giant Astrazeneca, as well as Imperial College London to accelerate trials of a vaccine.