PARIS (Reuters) – France could block shipments abroad of COVID-19 vaccines, similar to moves on this front by Italy, said French Health Minister Olivier Veran on Friday.
Asked by BFM TV if France could follow Italy’s move on this, Veran replied: “We could”.
On Thursday, two separate sources told Reuters that the EU had blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca’s vaccine destined for Australia after the drug manufacturer failed to meet its EU contract commitments.
The sources said AstraZeneca had requested permission from the Italian government to export some 250,000 doses from its Anagni plant, near Rome.
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Toby Chopra)
