Backed by the European Commission, Italy has blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to Australia. This makes Italy the first country to use the EU’s new regulations on the export of vaccines. 

The British/Swedish vaccine company has cited production problems for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. 

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While the decision will affect 250,000 doses of the vaccine which were produced at a facility in Italy, AstraZeneca is on the path to deliver only 40% of the agreed supply in the first three months of 2021 to member states, as per reports. 

AstraZeneca and the EU were both unavailable to give an official comment, reported BBC. 

The EU has established new rules which allow a European member country to block the vaccine company from exporting the doses if they fail to meet its agreed terms to the EU. 

Giuseppe Conte, then Italian Prime Minister described delays as “unacceptable” and accused both Pfizer and AstraZeneca of violating their vaccine contracts.  

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Mario Draghi, his successor who took office in February has also prioritised accelerating the vaccination drive and argued that rules should be implemented rigorously. 

As per the EU vaccine scheme established in June 2020, the European bloc has negotiated to purchase vaccines on behalf of its member states. The bloc has been facing sharp criticism for its vaccination program’s slow pace. 

The Italian government had approached the European Commission last week to say that it was their intention to block the shipment.

Australia was due to start with the AstraZeneca jabs on Friday. The country started its vaccine program last week with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.