Brussels, Jan 27 (Agency) The European Union on Tuesday warned to tighten exports of COVID vaccines produced within the bloc, amid a row with AstraZeneca over a cut in planned supplies.
Last week, AstraZeneca told the EU it was facing production problems and hence will not be able to meet the supply target as agreed, BBC reported. Pfizer-BioNTechcalso said that it too will not be able to meet the supply target which inevitably means that it will slow down the vaccination drive across EU countries. Vaccine supply has become a critical issue as nations seek to stem high infection rates. The AstraZeneca row could affect supplies to the UK of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been developed by the US and Germany. Pfizer’s Belgian plant supplies to the UK. EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides had earlier said the 27-member EU bloc would “take any action required to protect its citizens”.