The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has refused to hold an emergency consultation with the European Commission amid a scandal over the disruption of the schedule of deliveries to the European Union of vaccines from the coronavirus.
This was reported by Reuters, citing its own sources in the European Commission.
“Representatives of AstraZeneca refused to meet with the European Commission on the supply of vaccines, the meeting was canceled. The EU continues to demand an explanation from the company for its announcement that it would cut supplies to the EU in the first quarter,” the agency notes.
Recall that the manufacturer of the “Oxford” vaccine reported problems with the production of its main component, due to which the number of available doses of the drug will be 60% less than expected.
It is worth noting that, according to the contract, in the first quarter of 2021 AstraZeneca has committed to supply the EU with 100 million doses of its vaccine against coronavirus. However, the head of the company, Pascal Sorio, said that he was two months behind schedule, but assured that AstraZeneca was already working to solve the problem.
Against this background, the European Union threatened the company with a lawsuit and allowed the possibility of introducing a ban on the export of COVID-vaccine outside the community.
