A move by EU member states is seen as a reversal of the bloc’s slow vaccine supply program.
Austria and Denmark, running at the slow release of COVID-19 vaccines in the European Union, broke ranks with Brussels on Tuesday to form an alliance with Israel to produce second-generation vaccines against crown virus mutations .
The move by two EU member states comes amid growing anger over delays in ordering, approving and dispensing vaccines that left the 27-member bloc far behind. world vaccination campaign.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that while the principle that the EU is getting vaccines for member states was correct, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had been too slow to approve them and supply bottles of lambasted pharmaceutical companies.
“We must therefore prepare for further mutations and should no longer rely on the EU to produce second-generation vaccines,” the chancellor said in a statement on Tuesday.
Danish Prime Minister Dante Mette Frederiksen was also critical of the EU vaccination program.
“I do not think it can stand on its own, because we need to increase capacity. That is why we are now fortunate to start a partnership with Israel,” she told reporters Monday. .
When asked if Denmark and Austria wanted to take unilateral action in obtaining vaccines, Frederiksen said: “You can call that.”
Kurz and Frederiksen are expected to travel to Israel this week to see an Israeli fast vaccine go nearby.
EU states issue vaccine side orders
Kurz said that Austria and Denmark, as members of the First Mover Group, would work with Israel on the production of a vaccine against mutations of the coronavirus and a joint review of treatment options.
Experts estimate that Austria will need to vaccinate two-thirds of the population, equivalent to more than six million people, each year in the coming years, Kurz said.
He said he would investigate pharmaceutical companies with domestic production including Pfizer, Novartis. Polymun and Boehringer Ingelheim will also speak with leading scientists and physicians on Tuesday.
Germany last month set up an action group to tackle bottlenecks in the supply chain of vaccine production and to encourage local manufacturing to protect itself from future pandemics.
At the same time a number of EU countries have set aside orders for doses of vaccines from Russia and China, even though the EMA has not yet regulated whether they are safe and effective.
Slovakia on Monday ordered 2 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. The second half is expected to arrive this month as vaccines look to rise amid an increase in COVID-19 infections and deaths.
The nearby Czech Republic – which is currently facing the worst COVID-19 revolution in any EU country – is also considering ordering Russia’s Sputnik V..
And Hungary has released a vaccine developed by Sinopharm in China, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban announcing on Sunday that he had received the bullet.