Coronavirus: EU races to catch up on vaccines as Brazil deaths cross 300,000
- EU leaders will meet to discuss new vaccine export rules that will weigh the needs of countries, with Britain seen as one of the targets
- Meanwhile, Brazil’s coronavirus-related casualties are soaring, while the vaccination programme in the US is improving
The European Union will look for ways to end its vaccine struggles at a summit on Thursday, as a Covid-19 surge takes the death toll in Brazil past 300,000.
A crucial tool in the fight against the pandemic, vaccines were in the spotlight again with AstraZeneca revising down the efficacy of its shot from 79 to 76 per cent after a US agency raised concerns about outdated numbers.
AstraZeneca’s jab is also at the centre of the EU’s vaccine woes, with an infuriated Brussels tightening export controls after the firm failed to deliver the doses it had promised to the bloc.
EU leaders will meet via videoconference on Thursday to discuss AstraZeneca supplies, as well as new vaccine export rules that will weigh how needy countries are in terms of infection rates, how many jabs they have, and how readily they export doses to the bloc.
“Open roads should run in both directions,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.