EU threatens to block vaccine exports as rising case numbers indicate third Covid wave

The bloc has only received one third of the 90 million AstraZeneca doses it says were promised

A woman receives AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine in Hagen, Germany. Reuters

Covid-19 tension was exposed on Saturday as the EU threatened to block the export of vaccines in a row over failed deliveries.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said the bloc  received only 33 per cent of the vaccine doses it was promised.

The EU has been criticised for placing a temporary ban on the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot and its sporadic inoculation programme, which has been slower than those of the UK and US.

Cases are rising in 20 member states, including Germany and France, and some fear a third wave is imminent.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to staff working in the intensive care ward of the Poissy Saint-Germain-en-Laye hospital, in Poissy, near Paris. AFP

A medical worker looks through a window at an additional intensive care unit set up to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic at the Ambroise Pare Clinic in Paris, France. Bloomberg

A nurse administers a dose of Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine at the Beziers vaccination centre at Zinga Zanga village hall, south of France. AFP

A patient suffering from Covid-19 is transferred from Lille to Brest hospital in France. Reuters

The Lannion-Trestel hospital, where a new variant of Covid-19 has been detected, in Lannion, France. Reuters

Antonio Garcia, 95, dances with a health worker before being vaccinated with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at the Nurse Isabel Zendal Hospital in Madrid, Spain. AP Photo

People receive their day pass to visit shops and cultural institutions after getting a negative Covid-19 rapid test result in Tuebingen, Germany. Reuters

People are reflected in a shop window enjoying some sun in Tuebingen, Germany. Reuters

Health workers transport a training dummy on to an intensive care unit train, operated by Trenitalia SpA, during a media visit at Termini railway station in Rome, Italy. Bloomberg

A cyclist passes a vaccination centre, operated by the Italian Red Cross, closed due to suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in Rome, Italy. Bloomberg

A health worker administers the Moderna vaccine at a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Rome, Italy. Bloomberg

A health worker draws doses from a vial of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in Rome, Italy. Bloomberg

“We have the option of banning a planned export. That’s the message to AstraZeneca: you fulfil your contract with Europe first before you start delivering to other countries,” Ms von der Leyen said.

Ms Von der Leyen said the EU had only received 30 million doses of the 90 million AstraZeneca vaccines it had been promised by the end of March.

The company blamed production delays but European officials are furious that AstraZeneca has been able to deliver its UK contract while falling short on the continent.

“We haven’t received anything from the Brits, although we are delivering to them,” Ms von der Leyen said.

“I can’t explain to European citizens why we are exporting millions of vaccine doses to countries that are producing vaccines themselves and aren’t sending us anything back.”

EU-based manufacturers have shipped 41 million vaccine doses to 33 countries since early February, Ms von der Leyen said, making the bloc one of the world’s biggest export regions for Covid-19 vaccines.

French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune welcomed the tougher tone from Brussels.

"We need a principle of reciprocity: supply others if they supply us in accordance with signed contracts," he said.
There are concerns that the low vaccination rates are contributing to the rising rate of new cases.

“We have exponential growth ... so it is good we had agreed on an emergency brake and unfortunately we will have to make use of this emergency brake,”  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

She said the lifting of lockdown restrictions was likely to be a slower process.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said his country was facing a “third wave” of the coronavirus as new restrictions were introduced in Paris.

Most businesses and public venues in Poland are closing as the health service struggles to cope with more patients on respirators than at any period over the last year, while Hungary has extended its nationwide lockdown for another week.

The European Medicines Agency on Thursday confirmed the AstraZeneca shot “safe and effective” and vaccination has since resumed in some countries.