AstraZeneca to Deliver 40 million Vaccine Doses to EU in First Quarter

AstraZeneca (AZ) has promised to deliver an additional 9 million doses of its vaccine to EU member states during the first quarter of this year, bringing its total delivery for the period up to 40 million — but still only half of the initial 80 million-dose commitment in its contract with the bloc.

The company was met with fierce resistance from EU officials when it first announced that it would have to cut its initial supply to the EU by 60 percent because of unforeseen production issues at its Belgian plant (DID, Jan. 28). Under its contract, AZ is committed to supplying the EU with up to 400 million doses in all, but the two parties have clashed over the terms of the contract and the unexpected delays (DID, Feb. 1).

AZ said it plans to expand its manufacturing capabilities in Europe but did not provide details or say if the additional production would allow it to fully meet its original delivery schedule.

The European Commission, which granted a conditional marketing authorization for the AZ vaccine on Jan. 29, announced on the same day it was implementing a “transparency and authorization mechanism,” giving it the authority to potentially block vaccine exports to other countries until EU contractual agreements have been met. The mechanism is set to last through March.

And in another controversy surrounding the AZ vaccine that has yet to be resolved, participants given a half dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine reportedly weren’t given a complete and full explanation for the dosing by trial investigators, according to a letter from Oxford University researchers sent to enrollees on June 8, 2020.

The trial researchers told an estimated 1,500 participants in the UK trial that the dosing change — a one-a-half-dose regimen instead of the standard two doses — was an opportunity to evaluate vaccine efficacy at different dose levels. The letter was signed by Andrew Pollard, the trial’s chief investigator.

Oxford and AstraZeneca made headlines late last year when they offered different accounts of what caused the dosing change (DID, Dec. 10, 2020). The university has maintained that the dosing change was planned, while AZ characterized the dosing change as an accident (DID, Dec. 4, 2020). — Jason Scott