LONDON (Reuters) – Europe’s struggle to secure supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine took a sharp turn on Thursday when Britain demanded that it accept all injections it had paid for after the European Union asked AstraZeneca to divert supplies from Britain.

The European Union, whose member states are far behind Israel, Great Britain and the United States in launching vaccines, is struggling to get supplies just as the West’s biggest drug maker has slowed shipments to the bloc because of production problems.

As vaccination centers in some parts of Germany and France canceled or delayed appointments, the EU publicly reprimanded Anglo-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca for failing to deliver even though the vaccine had not been approved by the block.

This received a stern response from AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot who said the EU was late in reaching the supply contract so that the company did not have enough time to resolve production problems at a vaccine factory run by partners in Belgium.

Britain, which has repeatedly praised its lead in the vaccine-launch race since leaving EU orbit on January 1, said its delivery must be honored.

“I think we need to make sure that the supplies of the vaccines that have been bought and paid for, which are obtained for those who are in the UK, are delivered,” Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove told LBC Radio.

Asked repeatedly whether the UK government would prevent AstraZeneca from diverting supplies of essential vaccines from the UK to the EU, Gove said the most important thing was for Britain to receive its orders as planned and on time.

CRUNCH VACCINE?

The fastest mass vaccination attempt in history has sparked tensions around the world as major nations buy vaccines in bulk and poorer nations try to navigate financial and diplomatic minefields to gather whatever supplies are left.

The EU failed to make inroads in crisis talks with AstraZeneca on Wednesday and demanded the drug maker explain how it will supply the block with spare doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from factories in Europe and the UK.

Tensions have risen against the backdrop of supply problems from another major Western vaccine supplier – Pfizer – which announced a delivery delay.

Israel is by far the world leader in vaccine launches per head of population, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Britain, Bahrain and the United States. Behind them are Italy, Germany, France, China and Russia.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday it would be a shame if Britain remained in the EU vaccine program rather than making up its own plans.

The UK has injected the first 7.1 million doses of the vaccine into the gun, and is on track to give the injection to all over 70s, frontline medical and care workers, clinically vulnerable and older nursing home residents. – about 15 million people – on February 15. .

RAPTURE CANCELED

In the northern French region of Hauts-de-France, France’s second most populous region, several vaccination centers no longer make appointments for the first injection. In other parts of France, some online appointment platforms have closed booking options.

Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia last week postponed opening of a vaccination center until February 8, while the state of Brandenburg also had to cancel a vaccination pledge originally scheduled for the end of January due to delivery delays.

AstraZeneca’s Soriot told La Repubblica Italia that the problem had to do with the manufacture of the vaccine itself: He said one site with a large capacity had yield problems with cell cultures producing vaccines in 1,000 or 2,000 liter batches.

He said there were similar problems in the UK supply chain, but the British contract was signed three months before the European deal, so there was an additional three months to fix the disruption.

Germany’s Health Minister said he expected the current shortage of the coronavirus vaccine to continue into April, as the government faced renewed criticism over the speed of the vaccination program.

On Thursday, Germany’s best-selling Bild newspaper described issues surrounding vaccine procurement as “scandalous”.