An expected U.K. shortfall in Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine doses in April is largely the result of a delivery hold-up from the Serum Institute of India (SII) that the Indian government caused, according to the vaccine producer’s CEO.
Concern began growing Wednesday, when the National Health Service informed doctors and vaccination centers of a “significant reduction in weekly supply available from manufacturers,” starting on March 29 and lasting four weeks.
The NHS said in its letter this drop is due to “reductions in national inbound vaccine supplies,” although it didn’t specify which vaccine or which supply routes.
That news was followed by a BBC report today that only 5 million doses, out of 10 million ordered from India-based SII, are arriving in March.”We will try to supply more later, based on the current situation and the requirement for the government immunization program in India,” an SII spokesperson told the BBC.
As for the cause, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla told the Telegraph the holdup stemmed from the Indian government temporarily stopping exports, “and it has nothing to do with the SII.”
However, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick told the Today program the shortfall was more complex, noting that global manufacturers are experiencing issues. Pressed on whether there’s a problem with the SII factory or whether the Indian government prevented the export, he declined to be specific.
“It’s not that there’s any one factory that’s responsible for this or any one country,” he said. “We are sourcing vaccines from all over the world using multiple manufacturers.”
AstraZeneca, however, brushed away suggestions of any problems today, telling POLITICO: “Our domestic supply chain is not experiencing any disruption and there is no impact on our delivery schedule.â€