EU looks to sue AZ over jab shortages
Astrazeneca has delivered just 31mn of the 120mn Covid-19 vaccine doses that it had promised
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON: The European Commission is looking to launch legal action against Astrazeneca for under-delivering Covid-19 vaccine doses to the EU, hobbling the bloc’s early roll-out of jabs, diplomats said on Thursday.
The EU executive informed member state envoys of its plans on Wednesday, the diplomats told AFP, confirming information first published by the Politico website.
They said any lawsuit against Astrazeneca would begin in a Belgian court - the jurisdiction agreed under the commission’s contract with the British-swedish pharmaceutical company.
A European Commission spokesman, Eric Mamer, told journalists that “no decision has yet been taken”. Another spokesman, Stefan De Keersmaecker, added, “As you know, Astrazeneca is not delivering the number of doses which have been agreed upon in the contract... This is one of the reasons why we keep our options open together with member states to take any further steps.”
Astrazeneca has so far delivered 31 million of the 120 million doses it had promised. It has warned it will likewise provide just 70 million of the 180 million more meant to be delivered over the rest of this year.
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