‘Vaccine nationalism' will only prolong pandemic, warns WHO

Vaccine supply issue is a huge blow to Europe’s already stumbling vaccine rollout, setting it on a collision course with UK; AstraZeneca vaccine appeared not to be effective for over-65s: Macron

The European Union (EU) approved the OxfordAstraZeneca coronavirus jab for use on all adults as the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned wealthy countries against “vaccine nationalism,” saying it will only prolong the pandemic.

Coronavirus outbreaks are raging around the globe with COVID-19 deaths nearing 2.2 million, and while some parts of the world are fighting over limited vaccine supplies, there are fears the less privileged will not get access for a long time.

The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford became the third to get EU approval after Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, but it came under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row with Britain over which countries will get the scarce doses currently available.

“I expect the company (AstraZeneca) to deliver the 400 million doses as agreed,” tweeted European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, as she announced the authorisation.

The British-Swedish firm has admitted it will only be able to deliver a fraction of the doses promised to the bloc in the short-term due to production problems, saying there is not enough to fulfill supply promises to both Britain and Europe.