The United States has accumulated millions of doses of the British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, however, not being able to use it yet, it still does not agree to send the drug to dozens of countries where it is already authorized. This was reported on Thursday by The New York Times, TASS reports.
According to the publication, the company’s plant in Ohio is ready to distribute about 30 million doses of the vaccine; at the facilities in Baltimore (Maryland), its stocks are also stored, which would be enough for tens of millions of doses. They are intended for the United States, but the approval of the use of the drug in the country has been delayed. At the same time, it has already received medical approval in 70 countries.
The company has asked for permission to send accumulated doses of vaccines to the European Union, where it is lagging behind on its obligations. As the newspaper notes, there is an active discussion on this issue in the White House, but so far AstraZeneca’s request has been rejected. “We understand that other states have already turned to the US government, and we also asked him to carefully consider such requests,” – quotes the publication of the words of the company spokesman Gonzalo Vigny.
Earlier on Thursday, UN Secretary General António Guterres called for a fair distribution of vaccine doses to truly fight the infection, noting the miserliness of rich countries on this issue.