ASTRAZENECA HAS FAILED TO DELIVER ALL VACCINATIONS SUPPLY STIPULATED IN THE CONTRACT BETWEEN ASTRAZENECA AND THE EU

 

Karimi & Associates Law Firm presents according to Europian Commission:

 

According to European Commission‘s Public Health and Food Safety Spokesperson, Stefan De Keersmaecker, Brussels has initiated legal proceedings against AstraZeneca over its delay in supplying COVID-19 vaccines.

AstraZeneca delivered 50 million fewer vaccinations to the EU than expected in the contract between AstraZeneca and the EU. EU asserted AstraZeneca did not respect its vaccine supply contract, did not have a “reliable” plan to ensure timely deliveries. An issue in the legal dispute was whether AstraZeneca had done everything in its power to meet its delivery schedule.

The Advance Purchase Agreement which was published last year stipulated that AstraZeneca would provide 400 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the EU. 80 million of those doses were to be provided in 2021’s first quarter, but according to European Commission, only 30 million were provided. AstraZeneca in response to the news of the legal proceedings has issued a statement saying,  it “has fully complied with the Advance Purchase Agreement with the European Commission and will strongly defend itself in court.”

AstraZeneca explained about the delays:

Manufacturing vaccines is difficult as several companies in Europe and around the world are facing its challenges. We are making progress addressing the technical challenges and our output is improving, but the production cycle of a vaccine is very long which means these improvements take time to result in increased finished vaccine doses.

The EU has endorsed the AstraZeneca vaccine for use. Although some concerns abounded about its side effects, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that it “considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and .recommends that vaccinations continue.” The European Medicine Agency echoed the WHO’s conclusion