Nearly 29 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines destined for the United Kingdom were found hidden in the Anglo-Swedish company's facilities in Rome, Italy.
This huge amount, which corresponds to the total number of vaccines so far delivered by the pharmaceutical company to the European Union, was discovered after an inspection by the Italian authorities on the orders of Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who wanted to find out exactly what AstraZeneca produces European territory. While the Anglo-Swedish company was unable to meet its commitments on the number of vaccine doses Covid-19 which would be delivered to the EU, Brussels is rightly wondering about the destination of this huge stockpile.
According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, some of these installments were made by AstraZeneca subcontractor in the Netherlands. It is possible that some of these tranches are indeed intended for the EU, and are awaiting only final tests, but Brussels also suspects that much of them are intended for export.
Source: protothema.gr