European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said drugmaker AstraZeneca could face a ban on exports of coronavirus vaccine doses it produces in the EU if it did not meet its delivery obligations.
She told Germany’s Funke Media Group in an interview published Saturday that the EU had the “possibility” to ban exports. “This is a message to AstraZeneca: You fulfill your part of the deal toward Europe before you start to deliver to other countries,” she said.
On Wednesday, von der Leyen had already said that the EU was prepared to use the mechanisms it had in place to stop exports of vaccines from the bloc destined to countries that were producing their own doses and not exporting them in turn. She suggested that this was principally the U.K., as the U.S. was not importing doses, and was allowing for a free flow of vaccine ingredients.
