Coronavirus: AstraZeneca defends EU vaccine rollout plan

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – The head of AstraZeneca has defended its rollout of the coronavirus vaccine in the EU, amid tension with member states over delays in supply.

Pascal Soriot told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that his team was working “24/7 to fix the very many issues of production of the vaccine”.

He said production was “basically two months behind where we wanted to be”.

He also said the EU’s late decision to sign contracts had given limited time to sort out hiccups with supply.

Mr Soriot, chief executive of the UK-Swedish multinational, said a contract with the UK had been signed three months before the one with the EU, giving more time for glitches to be ironed out.