EU could block millions of Covid vaccine doses entering UK with new powers
-European commission says new mechanism will give national regulators power to refuse exports

歐盟可能以新的授權阻止數(shù)百萬劑新冠疫苗進入英國
——歐盟委員會表示,新的機制將賦予各國監(jiān)管機構拒絕出口的權力


(Officials conceded that a block on the export of vaccines such as that produced by Pfizer/BioNTech in Belgium for the UK was possible.)

(官員們承認,確有可能阻止輝瑞/拜恩泰科為英國生產(chǎn)的疫苗出口。)
新聞:

Millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine could be blocked from entering Britain from the EU within days after Brussels said it had to respond to shortages emerging in member states.

在布魯塞爾表示它必須應對成員國出現(xiàn)的疫苗短缺后,數(shù)百萬劑冠狀病毒疫苗可能會在幾天內被禁止從歐盟進入英國。

Following reports of a lack of doses across the bloc, the European commission announced plans to give national regulators the power to reject export requests. The development raises concerns over the continued flow of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, for which the UK has a 40m-dose order, from its plant in Belgium.

在有報道稱歐盟各國都缺乏疫苗劑量后,歐盟委員會宣布,計劃賦予各國監(jiān)管機構拒絕出口要求的權力。這一進展引發(fā)了人們對輝瑞/拜恩泰科疫苗的持續(xù)供應的擔憂——英國之前對其比利時工廠下了4000萬劑的訂單。

“There is a possibility in certain circumstances not to allow the export to come forward,” an official said. “Indeed, that would be the final option.”

一位官員表示:“在某些情況下,有可能不允許出口。的確,這將是最后的選擇。”

Should the UK become reliant on home-produced vaccines, securing herd immunity through the vaccination of 75% of the population could be delayed by nearly two months from 14 July to 1 September putting thousands of lives in danger, according to analysis by the data analytics firm Airfinity shared with the Guardian.

數(shù)據(jù)分析公司Airfinity向《衛(wèi)報》透露的分析結果顯示:如果英國開始依賴本國生產(chǎn)的疫苗,通過為75%的人口接種疫苗來獲得群體免疫可能會推遲近兩個月,從7月14日推遲到9月1日,這將使數(shù)千人的生命處于危險之中。
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The European federation of pharmaceutical industries and associations warned that the commission plan could lead to a breakdown of global supply of vaccines. “Global supply chains are key to delivering vaccines to protect citizens … Risking retaliatory measures from other regions at this crucial moment in the fight against Covid-19 is not in anyone’s best interest,” the industry group said.

歐洲制藥工業(yè)和協(xié)會聯(lián)合會警告說,歐盟委員會的計劃可能會導致全球疫苗供應的崩潰。該行業(yè)組織表示:“全球供應鏈是提供疫苗以保護公民的關鍵……在抗擊疫情的關鍵時刻,冒著其他地區(qū)會采取報復措施的風險(扣留疫苗),不符合任何人的最佳利益?!?/b>

The 27 EU member states were devastated by the announcement last week by the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca that it would only be able to deliver 25% of the 100m doses expected by the end of March, citing production problems in its Belgian plant.

上周,英國-瑞典制藥公司阿斯利康宣布,由于其比利時工廠的生產(chǎn)問題,到3月底,阿斯利康只能提供原本預計的1億劑疫苗中的25%,歐盟27個成員國對此大為震驚。

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be authorised for use by the European Medicines Agency on Friday and advance orders of the doses were considered key to the bloc’s vaccination strategy.

牛津/阿斯利康疫苗預計將于周五獲得歐洲藥品管理局的批準,該疫苗的提前訂單被認為是歐盟疫苗戰(zhàn)略的關鍵。

The company’s assurances to the UK government that it would fulfil its order of 2m doses a day without delay further fuelled the anger felt by officials involved in the EU’s faltering programme. Just 2% of the EU adult population has received a vaccine jab, compared with 11% of those in the UK, with scant sign of the bloc’s vaccination drive gaining momentum.

該公司向英國政府保證,將毫不拖延地完成每日200萬劑的訂單,這進一步加劇了參與歐盟步履維艱的疫苗接種計劃的官員的憤怒。歐盟只有2%的成年人接種了疫苗,相比之下,英國的這一比例為11%,并且歐盟的疫苗接種運動鮮有提速勢頭。
原創(chuàng)翻譯:龍騰網(wǎng) http://www.top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處


The lack of doses in the EU has already forced the Spanish government to announce a temporary pause in its rollout of the vaccine in Madrid, and to warn that Catalonia could follow.

歐盟疫苗的缺乏已經(jīng)迫使西班牙政府宣布暫停在馬德里接種疫苗,并警告說加泰羅尼亞可能是下一個停種地區(qū)。

The public health agency for Paris and the surrounding region, an area with a population of 12.1 million people, informed hospitals on Thursday that it would suspend its programme from 2 February. Hospitals in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France were told that the deployment of first doses there would be delayed to the first week of March.

擁有1210萬人口的巴黎及其周邊地區(qū)的公共衛(wèi)生局周四通知醫(yī)院,將從2月2日起暫停接種項目。法國北部上法大區(qū)的醫(yī)院被告知,第一批疫苗的接種將推遲到3月的第一周。

Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, said he feared “at least another 10 tough weeks” of shortages. “Making vaccines is very complex, and there can be a need for building work to increase capacity that leads to delays,” Spahn said on NDR radio. “But then it has to impact everyone in the same way and not just the EU.”

德國衛(wèi)生部長延斯·施帕恩表示,他擔心“至少還要再經(jīng)歷10周艱難的短缺期”。施帕恩在NDR電臺上說:“生產(chǎn)疫苗非常復雜,可能需要開展基建工作來增加產(chǎn)能,這可能會導致延誤。但它必須以同樣的方式影響所有人,而不僅僅是歐盟?!?/b>

With national vaccine plans in tatters, and AstraZeneca refusing to divert doses made at sites in Oxford and Staffordshire to the EU, Brussels has been seeking other means of securing its supply. In a letter on Thursday, the president of the European council, Charles Michel, welcomed the commission’s plan, adding that the EU had to “explore all options and make use of all legal means and enforcement measures at our disposal under the treaties”.

由于國家疫苗計劃支離破碎,而且阿斯利康拒絕將在牛津和斯塔福德郡生產(chǎn)的疫苗轉移到歐盟,布魯塞爾一直在尋找其他途徑確保其供應。在周四的一封信中,歐洲理事會總裁查爾斯·米歇爾對歐盟委員會的計劃表示歡迎,并補充稱,歐盟必須“探索所有選項,并利用條約規(guī)定的一切法律手段和執(zhí)行措施”。

He added: “While continuing dialogue, I believe the EU needs to take robust action to secure its supply of vaccines and demonstrate concretely that the protection of its citizens remains our absolute priority.”

他補充稱:“在繼續(xù)對話的同時,我相信歐盟需要采取有力行動,確保疫苗供應,并具體證明保護其公民仍然是我們的絕對優(yōu)先事項?!?/b>

Officials said they hoped there would be no need for export bans but conceded that a block on the export of vaccines, such as that produced by Pfizer/BioNTech in Belgium for the UK, was possible. The British government’s decision to ban the export of certain coronavirus medicines was further cited by an EU official as reason for Brussels to protect itself from acts of protectionism around the world.

官員們表示,他們希望沒有必要實施出口禁令,但也承認,確有可能會禁止疫苗出口,比如輝瑞/拜恩泰科公司在比利時為英國生產(chǎn)的疫苗。英國政府禁止某些冠狀病毒藥物出口的決定,進一步被歐盟官員列為布魯塞爾方面保護自己免受世界各地保護主義行為影響的理由。

“In an ideal world … the whole story of vaccination would run smoothly without any problems. But unfortunately we are not in an ideal world,” the official said. “We have seen that when it comes to the shortage of vaccines, when it comes to the export of vaccines … there are obviously deficiencies.

“在一個理想的世界里……整個疫苗接種過程將順利進行,沒有任何問題。但不幸的是,我們不是在一個理想的世界,”這位官員表示。“我們看到,就疫苗短缺而言,就疫苗出口而言……顯然存在缺陷。

“That’s why, and given the circumstances with certain states around the world, even in our neighbourhood, acting in terms of restrictions of exports, even banning exports for certain products, I think we need to be upfront, and we need to react.”

“這就是為什么,鑒于世界上某些國家,甚至是我們的鄰國,采取限制出口,甚至禁止某些產(chǎn)品出口的行動,我認為我們需要坦誠面對,我們需要做出反應?!?/b>

The full criteria for blocking exports will be published on Friday, with adoption of the export authorisation mechanism expected within days. “Time is of the essence,” an EU official said.

禁止出口的全部標準將于周五公布,預計幾天內將采用出口授權機制。一位歐盟官員表示:“時間至關重要。”

Peter Liese, a German MEP in Angela Merkel’s CDU party, said: “If the only solution is to have a reduction of the delivery to the UK, and that would bring more vaccine to the EU, that is only fair.”

默克爾所在的基民盟中的德國歐洲議會議員彼得·利澤表示:“如果唯一的解決辦法是減少向英國輸送疫苗,并且這將給歐盟帶來更多疫苗,那么這就是公平的。”

AstraZeneca has said it is contractually obliged to fulfil its contract with the UK before diverting doses from its British plants to the EU. The Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, said the UK would only help the EU with doses if there were spare vials.

阿斯利康已經(jīng)表示,根據(jù)合同,該公司有義務履行與英國的合同,然后再將其在英國工廠生產(chǎn)的藥物轉移到歐盟。內閣辦公室大臣邁克爾·戈夫表示,英國只有在自己有備用藥的情況下才會幫助歐盟。

“We will want to talk to and with our friends in Europe to see how we can help,” he said. “But the really important thing is to make sure our own vaccination programme proceeds precisely as planned.”

他表示:“我們希望與歐洲的朋友進行交流,看看我們能提供哪些幫助。但真正重要的是確保我們自己的疫苗接種計劃能準確地按計劃推進?!?/b>

The development came as Belgian regulators launched an investigation into AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine production site 25 miles (40km) south of Brussels, in Seneffe, at the request of the commission. Officials believe a significant number of vaccine doses made in Belgium have been transported to the UK and that this has contributed to the shortages.

根據(jù)歐盟委員會的要求,比利時監(jiān)管機構對阿斯利康在布魯塞爾以南25英里(40公里)的塞內夫的冠狀病毒疫苗生產(chǎn)基地展開了調查。有關官員認為,大量在比利時生產(chǎn)的疫苗已經(jīng)被運往英國,這是造成歐洲疫苗短缺的原因之一。

An EU official said: “We discussed this matter with our Belgian colleagues. We want to see whether what we’re being told is correct or not. So I would like to thank the Belgian authorities for undertaking these efforts.”

一位歐盟官員表示:“我們與比利時同事討論了這個問題。我們想知道別人告訴我們的是對還是錯。所以我要感謝比利時當局所做的這些努力。”

A spokesperson for the Belgian health ministry said the inspections at the plant were being conducted to “make sure that the delivery delay is indeed due to a production problem on the Belgian site”.

比利時衛(wèi)生部一位發(fā)言人表示,正在對該工廠進行檢查,以“確保交貨延遲確實是由于比利時工廠的生產(chǎn)問題(而不是運往英國)造成的”。

The EU is investing €336m (£297m) in AstraZeneca in return for 400m doses. But not all of the money has been paid to the pharmaceutical company. EU lawyers are examining whether there has been a breach of contract.

歐盟將向阿斯利康投資3.36億歐元(2.97億英鎊),以換取4億劑疫苗。但并不是所有的錢都被支付給了制藥公司。歐盟律師正在調查是否存在違約行為。