Vials with a sticker reading, "COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only" and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed Moderna logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvi/File Photo
MILAN: U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna will deliver 20% fewer vaccine doses to Italy than promised in the week starting on Feb. 7, Italy's special commissioner for COVID-19 said on Friday, putting further pressure on the country's vaccination campaign.
"Minutes ago, Moderna told us about the cut in the distribution of its vaccines. In the week beginning Feb. 7, only 132,000 doses will arrive, 20% less than agreed," Domenico Arcuri said.
Moderna's decision is another blow to the country's vaccine drive, which has not been able to rely on a stable flow of shots and is grappling with delivery delays from the different drug groups.
"As of today, we are missing 300,000 vaccine doses. Every day there is worse news than the day before. Vaccines are not soft drinks or snacks, they are the only antidote to the dark night that has lasted a year," Arcuri told a news conference.
Pfizer cut its vaccine delivery to Italy by 29% last week and by 20% this week.
AstraZeneca, whose vaccine is expected to be approved by the European Medicines Agency later on Friday, has already told Italy it would provide only 3.4 million doses in the first three months of distribution instead of the initially promised 16 million.
The Italian commissioner said that the vaccine campaign could count on 80,000 inoculations a day until two weeks ago, but now carried out less than half the shots because of the supply cuts.
He said the decisions on deliveries were being taken unilaterally and without notice, and were "unacceptable".
On Thursday, France also said it expected to receive 25% fewer doses of the vaccine produced by Moderna.
Arcuri said Italy would act as a consequence of all the delivery cuts and that the government would "do everything necessary in demanding what it is owed."
Italy, the second hardest-hit country in Europe by the COVID-19 in terms of deaths, has already sent a formal warning letter to Pfizer calling on it to respect its contractual commitments. It has also asked the European Commission to take action against Pfizer.
