AstraZeneca Covid19 Vaccine: disputes in Europe

AstraZeneca yet to respond to EU’s letter on the material breach of contract over the vaccine supply in Europe :

On 19 March 2021, EU^[1] sent a letter to AstraZeneca to complain over the below–contract supplies of its COVID – 19 vaccine. However, the pharmaceutical company has failed to respond to this letter to date. Read AstraZeneca covid 19 vaccine update: EU’s warning

Brussels had asked the drug firm to respond within 20 days of the letter, but this date had already expired a few days ago. This matter was revealed by an Italian daily, Corriere Della Sera.

The pharma company has recently been at odds with the EU member states over the vaccine disputes. This was due to the delivery of shots that were less than those mentioned in the initial agreement (regarding AstraZeneca Covid19 Vaccine).

A spokesperson from the EU verified this matter regarding the letter and claimed that it sent a letter to the company. EU did this to resolve the dispute regarding AstraZeneca Covid19 Vaccine. He also called this letter “a notice for dispute settlement.”

According to his claims, the EU initiated this action as a first step to sort out the vaccine disputes smoothly. He further added that the EU was in contact with the company to ensure a sufficient number of doses periodically.

Background story: AstraZeneca Covid19 Vaccine

An agreement signed by the company and EU has explicitly stated the method to resolve any issues in the future. This was a contract that both the parties signed in public. In case of any dispute between the two parties, one is expected to send a letter to another to notify the problem. If no response is received within 20 days, then after this period, both parties will meet directly. During this meeting, both parties must try to resolve the dispute by good faith negotiations. Also, read Why EU considers blocking AstraZeneca vaccines?

Based on the contract signed with the company, the EU states would around 120 million doses by the end of March 2021. However, the company has failed and has only supplied roughly 30.12 million doses to the EU.

Owing to the surge in the number of COVID – 19 cases and the troubles with the vaccination campaigns, several governments have become restless. These governments have expressed discontent with the Anglo – Swedish pharma group.

On 11 April 2021, France’s European Affairs Minister commented on this matter. He claimed that the drug firm’s actions were equivalent to mocking the Europeans and was quite troubled by this. He further elaborated that this could be the beginning of a possible judicial procedure if the company fails to rectify its actions. Albeit this, he opined that putting pressure would be more beneficial than following legal procedures at the minute. This statement was put forth as he felt that the latter was time consuming.

Abbreviation : 1. European Union