The European Union (EU) and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have reached an agreement after a dispute on Covid-19 vaccine delivery schedules, announced a spokesperson here on Friday.
The settlement will ensure the delivery of the remaining vaccine doses still due to EU member states, and put an end to a lawsuit that the EU had launched against the pharmaceutical company before the Brussels Court, explained European Commission Spokesperson for Health Stefan De Keersmaecker, Xinhua reported.
By the end of the third quarter, 60 million doses will be delivered, and 75 million more by the end of the fourth quarter. Another delivery of 65 million doses is scheduled before the end of March 2022.
The company had already delivered 100 million doses to EU member states by the end of the second quarter of 2021.
The settlement provides a “firm commitment” by the company to honor the delivery schedule, and includes a capped rebate system in case it falls behind once again.
The rebate will be 10 percent for a one-month delay, 25 percent for two months, and 40 percent for three months or more, De Keersmaecker said.
The agreement comes as the EU has reached a milestone in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with 70 percent of its adult population fully vaccinated as of August 31.
Earlier this year AstraZeneca angered European Commission officials when it said it could only deliver a fraction of the doses agreed for the first three months of 2021.
The bitter dispute overshadowed the initial weeks of the vaccine rollout across the EU’s 27 countries. The Commission accused the company of breaking an August 2020 advanced purchase deal while AstraZeneca hit back arguing that the contract only required its “best-effort” to deliver millions of vaccine doses on time.
AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine, now known as Vaxzevria, has also been hit by age restrictions imposed by several EU countries because of very rare side effects. The EU’s medicines agency made clear that the benefits outweighed the risks for all adult groups.
The delivery row was set to reach the Brussels courts at the end of September and Rudd Dobber of AstraZeneca said he was “very pleased that we have been able to reach a common understanding” with the Commission.