Conflict between US, allies over vaccines ramping up

Doses held in cold storage aren’t being used to help the vulnerable overseas

BRUSSELS — Millions of coronavirus vaccine doses are in cold storage in the U.S. that can’t be injected in the states because they are not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but the Biden administration is not allowing them to be sent overseas, where American allies are struggling to get enough doses for vulnerable populations.

The two-dose vaccine from AstraZeneca has received emergency approval from the European Union and World Health Organization, but not in the U.S. Now U.S. partners are prodding President Joe Biden to release the supply, noting that the administration has lined up enough doses of the three already-approved vaccines to cover every American adult by the end of May and the entire U.S. population by the end of July.

EU member states’ ambassadors this week discussed the challenge of accessing U.S.-produced doses of the AstraZeneca

shots. The German government said Friday it was in contact with U.S. officials about vaccine supplies, but stressed that the European Commission had the lead when it comes to procuring shots for member states.

Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have directed representatives to discuss supply chains in the vaccine production.

“Hopefully, we will be in a position on both sides of the Atlantic to ensure that sufficient quantities of vaccine doses are distributed out in line with the schedule so as to complete the vaccination campaigns,” EU commission chief spokesman Eric Mamer said.

Even though it is not approved in the U.S., well over 10 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine are stockpiled in the country for domestic use and cannot be exported under the terms of the company’s agreement with the federal government.

Drug manufacturers that received federal assistance in developing or expanding vaccine manufacturing of doses were required to sell their first doses to the U.S. In the case of AstraZeneca, whose vaccine was initially expected to be the first to receive federal emergency use authorization, the U.S. government ordered 300 million doses — enough for 150 million Americans — before issues with the vaccine’s clinical trial held up its approval in the U.S.

That policy has also come under criticism from U.S. neighbors like Canada and Mexico, which have been forced to seek vaccine manufactured on a different continent, rather than across the border. Its enforcement comes as the Biden administration has purchased enough doses of Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to be able to inoculate 150 million more people than its population by the end of the year.

The U.S. has also ordered 110 million doses of vaccine from Novavax, which is expected to file for emergency approval as soon as next month.

“We want to be oversupplied and overprepared,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday, saying Biden wanted contingencies in the event of any unforeseen issues with the existing production timeline.