AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) was urged to catch up with COVID-19 vaccine deliveries by the EU.
"The company... has to honour the contract it has with member states before it can engage again in exporting vaccines," the Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday evening.
READ: AstraZeneca publishes primary COVID-19 vaccine trial results consistent with Monday data
"We want to explain to our European citizens that they [can] get their fair share."
Von der Leyen spoke at a news conference after EU leaders met to discuss the vaccine rollout, which has been slower compared to other countries.
The bloc has blamed disruption on pharmaceutical companies, mostly AstraZeneca, for failing to deliver the promised doses.
The FTSE 100 pharma giant previously admitted it would supply 30mln doses to the EU instead of the promised 80mln in the first quarter of 2020, and only 70mln instead of the agreed 180mln in the following three months because of supply issues.
Unlike the UK and the US, the EU didn’t negotiate a ‘Europe first’ clause on its purchasing agreements, so jabs produced on its territory could be exported abroad.
The EU has exported 77 million doses of vaccines to 33 countries since 1 December 2020.
In addition, as a lead donor to COVAX, it has contributed to exports to low & middle income countries.
While remaining open, the EU needs to ensure Europeans get a fair share of vaccines. pic.twitter.com/9TbTxAuFxk
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 25, 2021
Meanwhile, Sweden has cleared the use of the Oxford vaccine to people over 65, but neighbouring Denmark has extended the rollout pause for another three weeks to investigate cases of blood clots.
However, most EU countries have resumed the inoculations after the regulator deemed it safe a week ago.
"Right now, we believe that our basis for making a final decision on the further use of the COVID-19 vaccine by AstraZeneca is too uncertain," commented Soeren Brostroem, head of the Danish Health Agency.
"Many studies have been launched, but we do not yet have any conclusions. That is why we have decided to extend the break."
Nasal study
Back in the UK, the University of Oxford is launching a study to deliver the vaccine via a nasal spray instead of injecting it.
The Phase I trial will enrol 30 healthy volunteers aged 18–40, who will be followed for a total of four months.
“Some immunologists believe that delivering the vaccine to the site of infection may achieve enhanced protection, especially against transmission, and mild disease,” said Dr Sandy Douglas, Clinician-Scientist and Chief Investigator of the study.
“We hope this small safety-focused study will lay the foundation for future larger studies that are needed to test whether giving the vaccine this way does protect against coronavirus infection.”
Shares in AstraZeneca were flat at 7,224p early on Friday.