Pfizer warns EU to back down on Covid vaccine threats to UK

Pfizer has warned the European Union to back down from its threat to block vaccines to the UK because the firm “heavily” depends on the country for vital ingredients.

It comes after the EU’s chief, Ursula von der Leyen, said she would halt the export of coronavirus vaccines into Britain.

She criticised AstraZeneca on Wednesday for having “underproduced and underdelivered” to the bloc and said the EU will consider halting vaccine exports to countries with higher coverage rates than its own.

But Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, have told Brussels that the UK has the power to retaliate by withholding raw and crucial materials needed for its jab, the Telegraph reports.

A senior source close to the vaccine-production process told the newspaper that Pfizer was “heavily dependent” on supplies of lipid ingredients from the UK.

Pfizer factories in the EU have been receiving “fatty molecules” from a chemicals firm based in Yorkshire.

“They [Pfizer/BioNTech] told the commission that if the UK shuts down the lipids then the whole process grinds to a halt in weeks,” the source added.

The EU is struggling to get sufficient supplies of the AstraZeneca jab to accelerate its own vaccination programme - which lags far behind the UK’s.

A Pfizer spokesman said: “We have been clear with all stakeholders that the free movement of goods and supply across borders is absolutely critical to Pfizer and the patients we serve.

“We are working closely with governments around the world, including the UK Government and the European Commission, to ensure the supply of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in accordance with the agreed schedules.”

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