The European Union's internal markets commissioner Thierry Breton has hinted that the bloc might decide not to order AstraZeneca's coronavirus jab again following delays in delivering the first batches of the vaccine. "We're pragmatic.
My priority, as far as the vaccines are concerned, is to ensure that the firms we have contracts with deliver them punctually," Mr Breton told BFMTV television.
Brussels had originally ordered 120 million doses of the Anglo-Swedish group's jab for the 27 member states in the first quarter and 180 million in the second quarter.
However the drug maker "only delivered 30 million, thus creating the problems that everyone has seen," Mr Breton said. Only another 70 million will be delivered in the second quarter,