WORLD NEWS

EU sues AstraZeneca after delays in vaccine deliveries

The European Union said Monday it had launched legal action against the British-Swedish drug company AstraZeneca after it repeatedly under-delivered on its shipments of Covid-19 vaccines to the bloc.

The 27 nations in the European Union have rolled out a relatively sluggish vaccination program as the company’s deliveries to the union have fallen tens of millions of doses short of delivery targets agreed in its contract with the EU several times.

The EU had ordered 300 million initial doses of the vaccine from the company, with an optional extra 100 million.

AstraZeneca said it would strongly defend itself in court and “regrets” the European Commission’s decision to take legal action.

The company’s failure to deliver the agreed doses to schedule has given way to a public feud between AstraZeneca and the EU, also dragging in the United Kingdom, which appears to be receiving its agreed doses on time.

Stefan De Keersmaecker, health spokesperson of the European Commission, said Monday that a lawsuit had been launched, arguing that the terms of the EU-AstraZeneca contract had “not been respected, and the company has not been in a position to come up with a reliable strategy to ensure timely delivery of doses.”

“What matters to us in this case, is that we want to make sure that there is a speedy delivery of a sufficient number of doses that European citizens are entitled to, and which have been promised on the basis of the contract,” he said, adding all 27 countries supported this action.

In a statement on Monday, AstraZeneca said: “Following an unprecedented year of scientific discovery, very complex negotiations, and manufacturing challenges, our company is about to deliver almost 50m doses to European countries by the end of April, in line with our forecast.

“AstraZeneca has fully complied with the Advance Purchase Agreement with the European Commission and will strongly defend itself in court. We believe any litigation is without merit and we welcome this opportunity to resolve this dispute as soon as possible,” it added.

 

Source: Adomonline

Ogyem Solomon

Solomon Ogyem – Media Entrepreneur | Journalist | Brand Ambassador Solomon Ogyem is a dynamic Ghanaian journalist and media entrepreneur currently based in South Africa. With a solid foundation in journalism, Solomon is a graduate of the OTEC School of Journalism and Communication Studies in Ghana and Oxbridge Academy in South Africa. He began his career as a reporter at OTEC 102.9 MHz in Kumasi, where he honed his skills in news reporting, community storytelling, and radio broadcasting. His passion for storytelling and dedication to the media industry led him to establish Press MltiMedia Company in South Africa—a growing platform committed to authentic African narratives and multimedia journalism. Solomon is the founder and owner of Thepressradio.com, a news portal focused on delivering credible, timely, and engaging stories across Ghana and Africa. He also owns Press Global Tickets, a service-driven venture in the travel and logistics space, providing reliable ticketing services. He previously owned two notable websites—Ghanaweb.mobi and ShowbizAfrica.net—both of which contributed to entertainment and socio-political discussions within Ghana’s digital space. With a diverse background in media, digital journalism, and business, Solomon Ogyem is dedicated to telling impactful African stories, empowering youth through media, and building cross-continental media partnerships.

Related Articles

Back to top button