BERLIN: The European Union’s contract with AstraZeneca for its COVID-19 vaccine contains binding orders, EU Commision head Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday, as the bloc continues to press the drugmaker to deliver supplies as promised.
The EU has been locked in a row with AstraZeneca, which partnered with Britain’s Oxford University to develop its vaccine, after the drugmaker said last week it would cut deliveries in the first quarter due to production issues at a Belgian factory.
An EU official said that meant the EU would receive 31 million doses in the period, or 60% less than initially agreed, piling pressure on the 27-country bloc which has lagged vaccination campaigns in Israel, Britain and the United States.
“There are binding orders and the contract is crystal clear,” von der Leyen told Deutschlandfunk radio, adding it contained clear delivery amounts for December and the first three quarters of 2021.
“AstraZeneca has also explicitly assured us in this contract…