EU rules holding back Covid vaccine production, Pfizer says
Regulations have caused ‘a significant administrative burden’, Pfizer says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pfizer has accused the European Union’s export rules of hindering the production of its Covid-19 vaccine, according to reports.
The US pharmaceutical company said new EU rules regarding the free movement of goods across borders were hampering its ability to export the vaccine. Pfizer’s plant in Belgium supplies more than 70 countries, including the UK, with vaccines.
Regulations introduced in February require the company to inform the Belgian government about each package of jabs it plans to export, with the European Commission given the final sign off.
In remarks first reported in The Times, the drugmaker’s vice-president of global supply said these rules were slowing down the firm’s production.
“It has caused a significant administrative burden and some uncertainty,” Danny Hendrikse told the newspaper. “Ultimately what we would like our colleagues to do is to focus on making and distributing the vaccine.”
Read more:
- Pfizer Covid vaccine is safe and effective for children aged 12 to 15, new trial data show
- Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines 90% effective in preventing infections in ‘real-world conditions’, CDC study finds
- Stanford scientists deconstruct Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines and publish ‘recipes’ for all to see
The pharmaceutical boss’s comments come as preliminary trial data shows that the Pfizer jab is safe and provides high levels of protection against Covid-19 in children aged 12 to 15.
Researchers reported “robust” antibody responses in the children who were vaccinated, higher than in studies of young adults aged 16 to 25.
The vaccine was 100 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19, Pfizer added. The study included 2,260 adolescents in the US.
The results, which have yet to be peer-reviewed, showed there were no cases of Covid-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents, compared to 18 infections that were reported among participants who received the placebo.
The development comes amid tensions between the EU and the UK over vaccine exports. Last week, the EU leaders refused to back the European Commission’s plans to give the bloc enhanced powers to block vaccine exports to highly vaccinated countries.
In a joint statement last Thursday following a virtual summit, the leaders rejected the commission’s plans for a new export authorisation mechanism, saying: “We underline the importance of transparency as well as of the use of export authorisations. We recognise the importance of global value chains and reaffirm that companies must ensure predictability of their vaccine production and respect contractual delivery deadlines.”
Making the case for the export mechanism, Ursula von der Leyen told leaders at the summit last week that 77m doses produced in the EU had been exported to 33 countries since 1 December. A total of 21m of these jabs were sent to the UK.
“While remaining open, the EU needs to ensure Europeans get a fair share of vaccines,” Ms von der Leyen tweeted.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments