Vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca will only be delivering half the number of vaccines it originally promised to the EU, according to a report from Reuters.
An anonymous source from the company told Reuters that they would likely be shipping over 40 million doses to the EU by the end of 2021’s first quarter, rather than the 90 million originally agreed on.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to bring our deliveries closer in line with the advance purchase agreement… At this stage, AstraZeneca is working to increase productivity in its EU supply chain and to continue to make use of its global capability in order to achieve delivery of 180 million doses to the EU in the second quarter.”
The announcement adds to the Heart of Europe’s woes.
The Czech Republic, currently referred to as “the worst in the world for COVID-19,” is already struggling with trying to roll out vaccines to the vulnerable, garnering criticism for being disorganized and inefficient.
In January, the Czech government created an online registration platform for people over 80 years old to go take COVID-19 vaccines. Unfortunately, there were several issues with the platform. First of all, most people over 80 years old in the Czech Republic either don’t have the internet, don’t know how to use it, or can’t see the screen. On top of that, registration required receiving a one-time PIN (OTP) on a mobile phone which is confusing for many seniors. The system also had some issues, making thousands of people unsure of whether or not they successfully registered.
EU officials hope for AstraZeneca to find a way to ramp up their vaccine manufacturing in future months in an attempt to meet the original targets, but Reuters’ source stated that was “unrealistic.”
