There is a Financial Times article which may have some answers, not all:-https://www.ft.com/content/48b28b7e-9161-47a4-9c37-cf89fea2bc12First section of text, in cases a paywall appears:- "The fate of 29m AstraZeneca vaccine doses in Italy sparked finger pointing and recriminations on Wednesday as the EU warned that the company was far short of meeting its latest supply target.The European Commission called on AstraZeneca to explain the origin and intended destination of a stockpile identified by Italian authorities at the Anagni finishing plant, while some EU officials asked if the active ingredients in the doses had come from a Dutch facility as yet unlicensed to supply to the bloc.AstraZeneca said it was “incorrect” to describe it as a stockpile, adding that the doses were waiting for “quality control” processes to be completed before being released.Approximately 13m of the doses were destined for the international Covax scheme that distributes mainly to poor and middle-income countries. Those doses were made with vaccine drug substance manufactured outside the EU, the company said.The remaining 16m jabs were due to be dispatched to EU countries, with almost 10m doses earmarked for delivery during the last week of March, and the rest in April, it added. “The process of manufacturing vaccines is very complex and time-consuming. In particular, vaccine doses must wait for quality control clearance after the filling of vials is completed.”The mistrust over the vaccine doses at the factory near Rome highlights the near-complete breakdown in relations between the EU and AstraZeneca, whose low-priced jab was supposed to be a cornerstone of the bloc’s troubled immunisation drive."_____________________________________________Separately, on Covid-19 vaccine exports and the UKFrom FullFact 23/3/21:-WHAT WAS CLAIMEDThe EU has exported 41.6 million vaccines so far, 10 million of which were to the UK.OUR VERDICTThis is how many vaccines manufacturers in EU member states have exported.--------------------WHAT WAS CLAIMEDThe UK and US have exported no vaccines.OUR VERDICTThis is probably true, although the US plans to. A firm based in the UK does export ingredients used in the production of the Pfizer vaccine._______________________________TodayWashington Post, 25/3/21:-"The European Union released new figures Thursday showing it has exported more coronavirus vaccine doses than it has administered, but leaders meeting for a virtual summit played down the threat of blocking shipments leaving the bloc.Overall, 77 million doses have been shipped from the European Union since early December, 88 million will have been distributed internally by the end of the week, and 62 million shots have been administered within the bloc, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.While Europe has exported more than 20 million doses to Britain — no longer an E.U member — the bloc has so far sent fewer than 16 million doses to Germany, which is more populous.Britain has exported no vaccine doses back to the European Union, according to E.U. officials."
David Ainsworth ● 1859d