FRANKFURT | European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday threatened to block exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine if the EU did not receive its deliveries first, as the Poles and a third of the French woke up again confined, but in different modalities.
• Read also: All the developments of the pandemic
“We have the option of banning any planned export. This is our message to AstraZeneca: respect your contract with Europe before you start delivering to other countries, ”said Ursula von der Leyen, in an interview with German media group Funke.
The President of the European Commission recalled that the EU contract with AstraZeneca provides for the delivery of doses produced both on EU territory and in the United Kingdom.
“However, we did not receive anything from the British, whereas we supply them,” argued Ursula von der Leyen, adding that the EU had sent a “formal” complaint to the pharmaceutical group. “I am unable to explain to European citizens why we export millions of doses of vaccines to countries which produce vaccines themselves and do not send them back to us.”
AstraZeneca is due to deliver 70 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in the second quarter, much less than the 180 million promised in the contract signed with the European Union. In the first quarter, the EU is expected to have received a total of some 30 million doses of AstraZeneca, against 90 million planned by the Swedish-British pharmaceutical group.
These threats come as the Poles and a third of the French have woken up again confined.
Third confinement in one year for 21 million French people, including Parisians, the measure is however more flexible and less restrictive than in March 2020. Unlike the first two confinements, the French will be able to leave this time “without any limitation of duration” , but “within a radius of 10 kilometers”, and with a certificate. A large part of the businesses will also be closed.
These new restrictions were made necessary by the deterioration of the health situation, which “is more and more clearly akin to a third wave”, according to Prime Minister Jean Castex.
The French government has emphasized the fact that we contaminate ourselves more inside than outside: parks and gardens remain open, but the list of closed businesses has grown, to the chagrin of some.
“It’s the coup de grace. This third confinement comes when retailers bring in the summer collections, which will remain blocked for at least a month, ”lamented Pierre Talamon, of the National Clothing Federation.
Partial containment
Poland also entered partial containment on Saturday for a period of three weeks, new restrictions made necessary in the face of the upsurge in contamination. The Polish government eased the pressure in February, authorizing the opening of hotels, museums, cinemas, theaters and swimming pools with a half-gauge, against the current restrictions then decided in Europe.
In this regard, Germany will restrict from Sunday crossings at its border with Poland, a country classified as a high-risk COVID-19 zone by the Robert Koch health watch institute.
Belgium, for its part, has recorded for a week an “outbreak” of cases, which requires “tightening the screws” on the restrictions, according to the Minister of Health, Frank Vandenbroucke.
In Asia, the Philippines announced new restrictions on Friday, as contaminations reached a new record there, with more than 7,000 new cases per day.
In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan tested positive on Saturday, two days after receiving China’s Sinopharm vaccine.
In Brazil, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro has decided to close the beaches from this weekend, in a country where the epidemic is out of control. Just over 5% of the population there received a first dose of vaccine, and less than 2% the second.
After one year of the epidemic, weariness is growing in Europe, but also elsewhere in the world. In Canada, a demonstration is scheduled for Saturday in Montreal to protest against these health restrictions. Ditto in Austria and Bulgaria.
AstraZeneca recommended
Governments therefore want to end as soon as possible an epidemic that has already killed nearly 2.7 million people, and vaccination continues to intensify.
Half of the adult population in the United Kingdom has received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Minister of Health announced on Saturday, welcoming a “huge success” for this country, the most bereaved in Europe by the pandemic.
For their part, several European countries began to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine again on Friday, recommended by WHO experts.
To fight against the virus, Germany and France, like Italy, Bulgaria and Slovenia resumed vaccination with AstraZeneca on Friday. Other countries will get back to it next week, including Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.
About fifteen countries had suspended the use of this vaccine as a precaution after reporting possible serious side effects such as bleeding disorders and clot formation, at this stage with no proven link with this serum.