EU begins legal action against AstraZeneca over vaccine shortage

The European Commission said on Monday it had sued AstraZeneca for not respecting its agreement for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and for not having a well-grounded plan to ensure timely deliveries.

The Anglo-Swedish firm said it would “strongly defend itself in court” and regret the decision by the European Commission to start legal action over alleged breaches of an advance purchase contract.

After the declaration of the legal action, AstraZeneca said it was in the process of delivering nearly 50 million doses by the end of April, a goal which is in compliance with the reformed target of supplying only 100 million shots by the end of the quarter.

AstraZeneca managed to deliver only about a quarter of the expected 120m doses in the first quarter of this year because of production complications at a plant in Belgium, leading to irate allegations from Brussels.

“Following an unprecedented year of scientific discovery, very complex negotiations, and manufacturing challenges, our company is about to deliver almost 50m doses to European countries by the end of April, in line with our forecast,” the company said in a statement.

The first court session is scheduled to be held on Wednesday.