Mama Mia!
Italian police found millions of unreported doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in a factory raid – raising concerns that the shots were hidden amid a distribution coil between the European Union and the UK, according to reports from Wednesday.
Up to 29 million doses of the vaccine – nearly double the amount the European Union has received from the pharmaceutical company so far – were discovered at a pharmaceutical factory in Anagni last weekend, Italian newspaper La Stampa reported.
The injections were initially on their way to the UK and were later blocked by Italy after new rules for vaccine exports were introduced last month, EU sources told the paper.
But Italy was unaware of the vaccines until EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton launched an investigation into their destination – then tipped off Italian police about the plant, the paper said.
On Saturday, the European Commission asked the Prime Minister to verify a number of batches of vaccines at a production plant in Anagni. The Prime Minister informed the Minister of Health, who ordered an inspection between Saturday and Sunday, carried out by the [Italian authorities], ”An official told The Independent. “The consignments that were checked were destined for Belgium.”
Belgium, which is part of the European Union, is engaged in heated negotiations with the UK on a vaccine distribution plan, the authorities said.
The injections were made possible at the Halix factory in the Netherlands, which is still awaiting approval by the European Medicines Agency, according to Italian media.
The Italian Ministry of Health said it was investigating the factory incident.
AstraZeneca said most of the plant’s 29 million doses were intended for EU countries, and the rest for poor countries under the World Health Organization’s COVAX plan.
“No exports are currently planned except to COVAX countries. There are 13 million vaccine doses awaiting quality control delivery to COVAX, ”the company told The Independent.
The remainder of the 16 million doses will be shipped to Europe this month and April, following quality control approval, the company said.
The raid comes after AstraZeneca has been attacked by the European Commission in recent weeks for missed delivery targets.
The vaccine has been approved in more than 50 countries, but has not yet received a green light in the US.