AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine delivery "a few doses away" from commitment in Q1: EU

BRUSSELS, March 31 (Xinhua) -- AstraZeneca delivered 29.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to European Union (EU) member states in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, "a few doses away" from the promised 30 million, a European Commission spokesperson said on Wednesday.

EU member states have received 67.5 million doses from BioNTech-Pfizer and 9.8 million doses from Moderna, said European Commission deputy chief spokesperson Dana Spinant.

These numbers are in line with those announced by European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on March 25, with 30 million doses promised by AstraZeneca, 60 million doses promised by BioNTech-Pfizer, and 10 million doses promised by Moderna.

AstraZeneca's performance comes as a surprise after delays in production and deliveries from the British-Swedish vaccine manufacturer, which triggered vaccine export control by the EU.

AstraZeneca's vaccine is also under scrutiny as a few cases of blood clots subsequent to their vaccine's injection were discovered.

However, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has deemed that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks.

"A causal link with the vaccine is not proven, but is possible and further analysis is continuing," said EMA in a press release on Wednesday.