EU sues AstraZeneca over COVID-19 vaccine delivery shortfall

BRUSSELS: The European Union said Monday it has launched legal action against pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca over coronavirus vaccine delivery shortfalls that hampered efforts to kickstart inoculations across the bloc.

"What matters to us in this case is that we want to make sure that there's a speedy delivery of a sufficient number of doses that European citizens are entitled to, and which have been promised on the basis of the contract," he said.British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca dismissed the legal action as"without merit" and insisted"we welcome this opportunity to resolve this dispute as soon as possible".

The commission said the firm only provided 31 million of 120 million expected doses in the first three months of this year. The commission - which has been responsible for procuring vaccines for all of the bloc - informed member states last week of its plans to take the company to court and pressed for support from national governments.

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