U.S. stockpiles millions of vaccines and does not use them, nor lend them to the EU

AstraZeneca New Crown vaccine.

The U.S. media revealed on Friday (11) that the U.S., which still has not granted authorization for the use of the AstraZeneca New Crown vaccine, has stockpiled tens of millions of doses of the vaccine in its domestic AstraZeneca plants and refused to lend the vaccine to the European Union for use. The EU is furious about this, accusing it of hindering the EU's efforts to fight the outbreak.

According to the New York Times, AstraZeneca in the U.S. said that clinical trials in the U.S. have not yet reported results, so the drugmaker has not yet applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval; however, they have asked the U.S. to lend the vaccine to the EU first, but the U.S. authorities have refused. Reports indicate that there are two different opinions within the U.S. government, with some believing that the government should first donate to countries in need and others preferring to leave the vaccine for the U.S. to use later.

Sources close to the situation point out that there is a huge stockpile of vaccines at AstraZeneca plants in Ohio and Maryland, with 30 million doses in the former alone. Officials have discussed whether to send the vaccine to Brazil, the European Union or the United Kingdom, where the outbreak is growing, and have urged the White House to make a decision in the next few weeks. But the White House did not respond to a request for comment, saying on Wednesday (10) that "if we have a surplus, we will share it with the rest of the world" and "we will make sure we take care of Americans first.

According to the report, the EU has been fiercely critical of "vaccine nationalism" and trade protectionism, and some senior EU officials have begun to blame the United States. EU Council President Charles Michel has publicly criticized the U.S. for "completely banning the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on its territory.