EU faces new shortfall of AstraZeneca vaccine supply

Drug company blames production issues and export restrictions

The first shipment of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine arrives at Tbilisi airport in Georgia. Georgian Health Ministry

The EU is facing a new shortfall of Covid-19 vaccine supplies after maker AstraZeneca announced a delay in shipments on Saturday.

Production problems and export restrictions have been blamed for the setback.

It comes as Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Latvia called on Saturday for urgent talks with EU leaders over the "huge disparities" in vaccine distribution.

The delay is the latest blow to hit AstraZeneca after a number of countries suspended the use of its vaccine over blood clotting fears, despite the World Health Organisation saying there was no reason to stop using it.

Denmark, Norway and Iceland have suspended using the vaccine as a precaution, and an Indian official on Saturday said the country would carry out a deeper review of its side effects next week.

AstraZeneca had previously said it was facing shortfalls from its European supply chain due to "lower-than-expected output from the production process" and was hoping to compensate in part by sourcing vaccines from its global network.

"Unfortunately, export restrictions will reduce deliveries in the first quarter, and are likely to affect deliveries in the second quarter," it said in a statement on Saturday.

AstraZeneca started delivery of the vaccine to the EU in February, and still aims to deliver 100 million doses in the first half of 2021.

Of this, 30 million are due to be delivered in the first quarter.

AstraZeneca had initially agreed to supply three times as many doses in the first quarter, and 180 million doses in the second quarter alone.

The firm said it was "collaborating with the EU Commission and member states to address the supply challenges".

The EU on Saturday sidestepped the issue of the number of AstraZeneca doses it was expecting.

"We are aware that the company is experiencing supply issues and that discussions are ongoing," it said.

"We insist that the company is doing all it can to honour its commitments and we are following up with them."

Earlier this week, the EU's drug regulator said severe allergies should be added to the possible side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The World Health Organisation, which said its vaccines advisory committee was examining the safety data coming in, has stressed that no causal link has been established between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clotting.

"Yes, we should continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said on Friday, stressing that any concerns over safety must be investigated.

AstraZeneca insisted its vaccine was safe. It said there was "no evidence" of higher blood clot risks.

Italy and Austria have banned the use of vaccine from separate batches of AstraZeneca, and Thailand and Bulgaria said this week they would delay their campaigns.

In an open letter released on Saturday, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Latvia called for EU talks to discuss the "huge disparities" in vaccine distribution.

The leaders of the countries sent the letter to the EU chiefs claiming that "deliveries of vaccine doses by pharma companies to individual EU member states are not being implemented on an equal basis".

"If this system were to carry on, it would continue creating and exacerbating huge disparities among member states by this summer, whereby some would be able to reach herd immunity in a few weeks while others would lag far behind," the letter said.

"We therefore call on you ... to hold a discussion on this important matter among leaders as soon as possible."

Italy on Friday announced tough new restrictions in much of the country, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi delivering a warning that it faced "a new wave" of infections.

Schools, restaurants, shops and museums were ordered to close across most regions of Italy, including Rome and Milan from next week.

Disneyland Paris, one of Europe's biggest tourist attractions, said it would not be able to reopen as planned on April 2 because infections remained high in France.