Vaccines: "Astrazeneca has signed contracts with Europe and the United Kingdom which is not compatible"

Journalist at the European "World" office in Brussels, Virginie Malingre answered Internet users' questions about the EU vaccine supply strategy.

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MIMO: Can France independently of the European Union, command vaccines such as the Sputnik V-if the latter is approved by the High Authority for Health but not by the European Medicines Agency?

Virginie Malingre: Yes.France can use an emergency authorization procedure which allows it to authorize the placing on the market of a vaccine without delay the European Medicines Agency.But, in this case, the health checks are much lighter and the State takes responsibility for all legal responsibility if this vaccine had to have side effects.The laboratory would be completely exempt from it.

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Statman: Can you give the figures and therefore the differences on what was to be delivered and what was actually delivered by Astrazeneca to Europeans?

Astrazeneca was committed to delivering 120 million doses in the first quarter and 180 in the second.It will be 30 and 70 million doses, if everything is going well.

Corentin : Y a-t-il des contrats en cours de négociation avec des nouveaux labos comme Johnson & Johnson ?

Aujourd’hui, la Commission a signé des contrats avec six laboratoires : Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Curevac et Sanofi. Quatre vaccins ont à ce stade été approuvés : Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, et tout dernièrement Johnson & Johnson, dont les livraisons commenceront mi-avril.We already know that the Sanofi vaccine will not see the day in the short term.That of Curevac should be authorized by the European Medicines Agency in May.The Commission is still in negotiations with two other laboratories: Valneva and Novavax.

Nos réponses à vos questions :A quel point les vaccins sont-ils efficaces ? Quels effets secondaires ont-ils été observés ?

Patrick: Tensions at the vaccine seem particularly vivid between Europe and the United Kingdom.However, this is only a conflict concerning Astrazeneca.What about other vaccines?Does Europe encounter similar problems with other suppliers?

Europe has been able to encounter problems with Moderna and Pfizer, who have had some concerns in factories.But it did not last and these laboratories respect their commitments, or even do better in the case of Pfizer.

Astrazeneca has signed contracts with Europe and the United Kingdom which are not compatible: the company has indeed promised in London that the first 100 million doses would be reserved for it while committing to deliveries to Europeans that'She couldn't honor.The Astrazeneca contract with the Commission reports the factories that must be used to deliver Europe and there are two British sites there.In fact, no vaccine has ever been exported from the United Kingdom to the European Union and therefore these two sites have not delivered Europe.

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Clembol: Is the approval of Russian and Chinese vaccines in Europe longer than for other already authorized vaccines?

In fact, the Russians have only very recently submitted a file to the European Medicines Agency.As for the Chinese, they did not do it.The European Medicines Agency authorizes vaccines even if they are not produced in Europe.

On the other hand, in the contracts it signed with the laboratories, the Commission requests that production be European.But at this point, there are no negotiations between the Commission and the Russian or Chinese laboratories.This does not prevent the European Medicines Agency from authorizing these vaccines.But there will be no joint purchase of twenty-seven.Unless, of course, they decided to negotiate with the Russians or the Chinese.

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Gaetano: Could you recall the precise export figures for vaccines from the EU to the rest of the world?What regions did the EU exported?Has the EU imported vaccines?Finally, where are the production factories in Europe?

L’Europe a exporté plus de 40 millions de doses de vaccins en dehors de l’Union européenne depuis le 1^er février.Around 33 countries, including the United Kingdom (Pfizer vaccines) for 10 million doses.Europe has not imported vaccines to my knowledge.But components, yes.In particular from the United States or the United Kingdom (lipids necessary for the manufacture of the PFIZER vaccine).The factories are mainly in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and also in France and Italy.

Lawyer: are the difficulties to enforce the contract by Astrazeneca cultural?Would the EU be less procedural than Anglo-Saxon countries, in its drafting of contracts and in legal levers to impose their application?

The European Union may have been a little more naive.But this is no longer the case at this stage.It has put pressure on the United Kingdom so that doses produced across the Channel are sent to the continent in accordance with what its contract provides with Astrazeneca.For, the London moment resists, but the discussion is underway.

That said, Astrazeneca fails to produce its vaccines and even the United Kingdom now undergoes the consequences.Thierry Breton, the commissioner in charge of the industrial component of the European vaccination strategy, is active to try to find solutions.An error in the commission was undoubtedly not to be concerned with this industrial component until late - at the end of January.

Marina: What does the industrial component of the vaccination strategy led by Thierry Breton mean?What is his role ?

Its role is to be in contact with companies to find out exactly what is the state of their production.And to help them, if necessary, by looking for new sites, or production lines elsewhere to convert, or partnerships to be linked with other industrialists.The production of vaccines requires nearly 400 components that come from all over the world and also equipment (for example, huge bags that are put in the tanks and which are not produced in Europe) which must be providedforwarding.Knowing that everyone wants.

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Frédéric: Why did the European Commission not try good to financially support the massive production of vaccines in Europe once the European Medicines Agency gave the green light for such and such a laboratory?Did she only trust the laws of the market?

The Commission financially supported production.In the contracts she signed with laboratories (very upstream of the very existence of vaccines), she gave them money - 2.9 billion euros - in addition to the future purchase ofdoses, so that they are ready industrially when their vaccine would receive the marketing authorization.

But the Commission has probably not followed close enough how the laboratories - in any case Astrazeneca;Again the others, at this stage, do not pose a major problem - were preparing industrially to produce.You have to understand that vaccines have never been developed so quickly - in less than a year - and that never had to produce in mass in such tight times.You should also know that the production of a dose of vaccine takes two months and that therefore, even when you have adjusted industrial capacities, it does not have an immediate effect.

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