EU vs. Astra Zeneca: Brussels vaccination strategy put to the test

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The dispute between the EU Commission and the British-Swedish vaccine manufacturer Astra Zeneca is getting sharper.

Mutual allegations, allegations and threats are in the room.

Astra Zeneca initially canceled a crisis meeting between both sides planned for Wednesday evening and then confirmed it again.

At the same time, representatives of EU health authorities provided information on pressing issues.

WELT answers the most important questions:

What is the dispute about?

The EU Commission has had a framework agreement with Astra Zeneca for up to 400 million vaccine doses since August.

However, the group has announced that it will only deliver around 31 million doses of the promised 80 million doses in the first quarter after the vaccine is expected to be approved on Friday - a setback for Brussels because it would then lead to delays in the Europe-wide vaccinations.

The reason given was production problems in a plant in Belgium.

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The EU does not allow this, especially since the group still produces in three other plants.

EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides again asked the British-Swedish company on Wednesday afternoon to deliver the contractually agreed amount of corona vaccine to the EU countries on time.

"We are in a pandemic and we are losing people every day," said Kyriakides.

Vaccine manufacturers have a “moral, social and contractual responsibility”.

The head of Astra Zeneca, Pascal Soriot, had previously said in the WELT interview that his company had never committed itself to fixed delivery quantities.

It was only assured "that we will do our best".

A spokesman for the EU Commission replied that the “best effort” clause only refers to the development phase.

"If approval is granted, then the agreed quantities, including the pre-produced quantities, must be delivered," he said.

How high are the EU case numbers?

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According to current figures, there is an average of 453 corona cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the EU (14-day incidence).

However, the differences are considerable: Finland has the lowest incidence with 61 cases, but there are also regions with up to 1144 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

There are currently ten deaths per 100,000 inhabitants registered across Europe.

A senior at the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): “The relatively low figure in Finland is still three times higher than the European average in the summer.

We're still a long way from where we want to be. "

Will there be more vaccines soon?

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently in talks with 50 different manufacturers.

In 23 advanced cases, she is already talking to the providers about data and specific study objectives (“scientific advice”).

The Russian vaccine Sputnik V is also in this shortlist, but it is still unclear how many products will ultimately be approved.

Johnson & Johnson and possibly also the German company Curevac should receive the next approvals in the coming months.

Are vulnerable groups safe with the corona vaccination?

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Unfortunately, that cannot be said with certainty.

Because of the enormous time pressure in the development and approval of the vaccines approved to date, neither pregnant women, chronically ill patients nor cancer patients have been included in the studies.

No specific data are yet available for children either, although the pediatric investigation plan for all vaccines is always drawn up later.

Do the vaccines also help against the mutants?

According to the ECDC, three variants are primarily known to date: the British, the South African and the Brazilian.

According to the authority, it is “definitely certain” that the British variant is “easier to transfer”.

But there is “absolutely no evidence” that these mutations lead to more serious clinical pictures.

In the case of the British mutation, the vaccines previously approved by Moderna and Biontech / Pfizer are, according to current knowledge, effective.

“For the other two mutations, we don't know exactly yet.

The effectiveness may be reduced, ”says an ECDC expert.

The EMA said: “There is a risk that at some point we will discover a mutant that is not sensitive to the vaccine.” However, the vaccines are “platform technologies” where “different contents are packaged in the same package ".

Since you generally only have to change the content and not the construction principle, it would be possible to react relatively quickly to corona mutations in most cases.

This is how you proceed with the influenza virus, which changes every year.

Will the coronavirus ever be eradicated?

That is not to be expected.

The EU health experts emphasize that "a low-threshold number of diseases" is likely to be recorded in the distant future as well, as a certain "animal reservoir" would still exist.

In the current pandemic situation, a sweeping vaccination effect can only be expected between the second half of the year and the end of the year.