EU vaccine chaos as ANOTHER 55million doses face delays and Italy turns to Putin’s ‘Russian roulette’ jab
THE European Union’s chaotic jab rollout has suffered yet another serious setback after another 55million doses have been delayed.
Johnson & Johnson has told it is facing supply issues that may complicate plans to deliver all the vaccine the bloc has ordered for the second quarter of the year, an EU has said.
It comes after Pfizer also cut supplies to the bloc, vowing to make up for it with larger-than-expected deliveries later this year.
The British/Swedish firm AstraZeneca has also slashed its delivery to the EU in the first quarter of this year, sparking a huge row with Eurocrats.
Supplies are set to increase from April, but Astra has again warned deliveries will not be able to meet quotas.
All this has left EU being responsible for shambolic rollout across the EU which is one of the slowest in the world.
Europe has given first doses to just six per cent of its population so far compared to 33 per cent in the UK.
ITALY TURNS TO RUSSIAN ‘ROULETTE JAB’
Meanwhile, Christa Wirthumer-Hoche, head of the European Medicines Agency’s board, has sparked a row with the makers of Russia’s Sputnik V jab by comparing fast-tracking approval to “playing a game of Russian roulette”.
Her remark caused fury with the manufacturer saying she has no right to undermine confidence in their jab.
But that has not put Italy off turning to the Russian vaccine as it desperately tried to vaccinate its population.
An Italian-Swiss pharmaceutical company has agreed to produce Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine in Italy, the first such deal in the European Union, a trade body said today.
A spokesman for the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce, Stefano Maggi, said: “The vaccine will be produced from July 2021 in (pharma company) Adienne factories in Lombardy.
“Ten million doses will be produced between July 1 and January 1, 2022.”
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Reports say state airline Lufthansa is in talks to launch queue-jumping flights for wealthy passengers to get a dose of Russia’s Sputnik V.
Germany has managed to vaccinate only five per cent of its 84million population — while over a million AstraZeneca doses sit unused in fridges.
Some are looking at Putin’s Sputnik V jab which claims to be over 90 per cent effective.
Two return flights from Frankfurt are estimated to cost around £1,750.
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