Astra Zeneca Vaccine Delayed

Manufacturing problems have stymied many pharmaceutical giants developing vaccines against the coronavirus.

In the past, Pfizer and Biontech, whose candidate vaccine had so-called emergency approval in the UK, also had problems. They have announced that they will deliver five million doses to the UK before the end of the year. This is half what the British government predicted just a few months ago.

Less production than expected

Now it appears that Astra Zeneca’s delivery will also be smaller than expected. If their vaccine is approved, it is expected to be able to deliver four million doses to the UK before the end of 2020. Earlier this year, they planned on a much higher figure, 30 million.

Domestic British production of the Astra Zeneca/Oxford vaccine is done by two subcontractors, Oxford Biomedica and Cobra Therapeutics, respectively, with packaging and downstream processing by Wockhart.

However, according to the Financial Times, Astra Zeneca states that production is taking place in continental Europe due to capacity reserved there which it wanted to use, not as a result of problems at British locations.

Britain first with universal vaccination

The morning after the delayed doses were announced, the UK, as the first country in the world, began vaccinating the population with the Pfizer and Biontech vaccines. On Tuesday, hundreds of Britons will get the first shot.