AstraZeneca’s EU vaccine woes deepen on clots, nationalism

AstraZeneca Plc’s European vaccine nightmare is worsening, with a number of countries halting shots over safety fears as further delivery delays prompt governments around the world to hoard doses they’ve already got.

Ireland on Sunday joined a growing list of about a dozen countries moving to suspend the shot over concerns about possible side effects from two batches of the vaccines. While Europe’s medicines regulator said there was no indication of any issues, reports of serious blood clotting after inoculation triggered a spate of suspensions stretching as far as Thailand.

The health scare emerged against a backdrop of further supply woes. The drugmaker's efforts to make up for the EU shortfall by sourcing shots elsewhere have hit a wall as governments around the world protect their own supplies. The US rebuffed pressure to share doses and is holding on to its Astra stockpile, even though the shot isn't yet authorized for use there.


The drama keeps Astra at the center of a political storm in Europe, weeks after manufacturing issues first put the two sides into conflict. Meanwhile, the EU is falling further behind the U.K. and the U.S. in vaccinations, creating a political crisis for the bloc's leaders.

In addition to low yields producing less vaccine than planned, one plant in the Netherlands is still awaiting regulatory approval to deploy doses. The site, owned by the manufacturer Halix, is making the vaccine drug substance for Astra and forms part of both the EU and U.K. supply chains.

An Astra spokesman said the approval timing is in line with original plans and hasn't had any impact on EU deliveries. Halix didn't respond to a request for comment outside of normal business hours.

But the various issues mean Astra will only be able to deliver about 100 million doses to the EU in the first half of the year, it said Friday, about a third of the number originally planned.