After weeks of disagreement between the EU bloc and top Covid-19 vaccine firm, an agreement has been reached. The European Union has confirmed that additional vaccine doses will be delivered soon.
AstraZeneca agrees to additional Vaccines to EU nations
The European Union started that UK-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has now agreed to supply the bloc an extra 9 million coronavirus vaccine doses before the first quarter of this year.
The EU commission head Ursula Von der Leyen has said this agreement is a step forward from several meetings. However, the 42 m vaccines expected is still 50% of what the union hopes amidst delivery issues.
In recent months the EU commission has been at loggerheads with the UK and the drug manufacturer oversupply problems that have limited the delivery of vaccines. The firm has blamed such disruptions on production issues in its plants.
EU annoyed bloc Vaccines shipped to the UK
The North Ireland border issues were a crucial hurdle to the Brexit agreements. The European Union is annoyed because COVID-19 doses meant for the union were shipped to the UK during shortages. Because of this, the bloc announced controls to monitor supplies and guarantee they get their due share. In a tweeted message Miss Von der Leyen stated that this agreement represents about a 35% increase from previous orders.
In July last year, the EU signed a deal with AstraZeneca for about 320 million doses of their vaccine with an option of another 120 if needed. They hope that at least 85 million doses will be made available before March 2021 but production at their Netherlands and Brussels plants has hampered such forecasts.
This conundrum has led to accusations and counter-accusation between both parties before they could agree recently. The coronavirus has killed thousands in the EUrozone and the quick supply of this vaccine will mitigate it.