Washington has told the European Union that it should not expect to receive AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines manufactured in the United States any time soon, two EU sources said on Thursday, in a new blow to the bloc's supplies.
The US message could complicate vaccination plans in the 27-nation bloc, which has been grappling since January with delays in deliveries from vaccine makers.
"The US told us there was no way it would ship AstraZeneca vaccines to the EU," said a senior official directly involved in EU-US talks.
AstraZeneca told the EU earlier this year it would cut its supplies in the second quarter by at least half to less than 90 million doses, EU sources told Reuters, after a bigger reduction in the first three months of the year.
Later, however, AstraZeneca offered to partly plug the gap with vaccines produced outside Europe, including in the United States.