EU defends its vaccine distribution and Pfizer expected to offset AstraZeneca delays

EU defends vaccine distribution as nations complain it is uneven The European Commission on Saturday defended its policy of distributing COVID-19 vaccines evenly in the bloc after Austria and five other member states complained that doses were not allocated equally. Reuters Staff U.S.

VIENNA (Reuters) - The European Commission on Saturday defended its policy of distributing COVID-19 vaccines evenly in the bloc after Austria and five other member states complained that doses were not allocated equally.

n a joint letter to the Commission and the European Council, leaders of six European countries, including Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Latvia, and later Croatia, called for discussions on vaccine distribution.

The Commission responded that doses have been distributed in proportion with the population of each country and taking into account epidemiological data, adding that was up to member state governments to decide how to share them.

A flexible policy agreed by EU governments meant countries facing a more acute phase of the epidemic could access more doses, if some governments opted for not taking up their pro rata allocation, the EU executive said in a statement.

“It would be up to the Member States to find an agreement if they wished to return to the pro rata basis,” it said, adding it backed an allocation method based exclusively on a pro rata of population of each EU nation.

The Commission has been criticized for the bloc’s slow vaccine roll-out, although EU governments play the main role in buying vaccines and in vaccination plans. ...

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