A US pharmaceutical company said in a statement Tuesday that it was postponing the supply of vaccines to Europe and evaluating rare cases of blood clots.
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“We are evaluating these cases with European health authorities,” the company said.
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Brussels did not seem to have any idea about this step. According to Reuters sources, the Commission is calling for a speedy explanation. “The European Commission is in contact with the company,” an unnamed source told Reuters.
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A spokesman for the EU executive has declined to comment on the situation so far.
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Rare cases of thrombosis
The postponement of distribution in Europe is linked to an investigation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which are investigating rare reports of blood clot problems in people vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson. The US authorities have recommended that vaccination with this vaccine be suspended for the utmost care.
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The CDC and FDA are looking at six reported cases of “rare and severe blood clots in individuals” several days after the vaccine. As of Monday, nearly seven million doses of the vaccine had been given in the United States.
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The first vaccines from Johnson were to arrive in Czech surgeries on April 19. It was supposed to be 14,400 doses, a week later 24,000 doses. In total, the Czechia has ordered around two million doses from Johnson & Johnson.
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It is not yet clear how complications with supplies complicate the government’s vaccination program.
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Europe is also impoverished by other producers
Johnson is not the first vaccine manufacturer to cut deliveries to the EU. In mid-March, AstraZeneca announced that it would reduce vaccine supplies to Europe by 73 percent. By the end of March, the company had delivered 30 million vaccination doses and 100 million for the entire first half of this year. Last year, the Union signed an agreement with AstraZenka to purchase 300 million doses of its vaccine, with 30 million due by the end of 2020, 90 million in the first quarter of this year and 180 million in the second quarter.
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Last year, however, no doses arrived because the preparation had not yet been approved by European regulatory authorities.
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Moderna also cut vaccine supplies to the Union without explanation. For example, Germany will not receive 878,400 doses of the vaccine from this company.
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