The British government insisted on Thursday that the announced reduction in the supply of anti-virus vaccines in April would not stop the massive vaccination campaign, nor the gradual easing of the restriction imposed since the start of the year.

“We think there will be some supply problems in the coming weeks, but there is no need to worry,” local government minister Robert Jenrik told the private Sky News.

“We are still on the right track to achieve our goals,” he said, providing a first dose to everyone over the age of 50 in mid-April and for all adults by the end of July, stressing that the disassembly schedule will not be affected by this problem. The “temporary” display.

In a letter leaked to the media on Wednesday, the Public Health Service of England warned vaccination centers of a “significant drop” in weekly supplies from March 29 for a month, without detailing reasons or reasons.

In front of Parliament, Health Minister Matt Hancock attributed the drop in supply to “delay in expected arrival” of vaccines produced by the serum institute in India, without specifying numbers.

He also explained that 1.7 million doses were delayed last week due to the need for additional safety tests.

According to the British press, the problem is due to the delay in the delivery of the Serum Institute of 5 million doses produced to the British laboratory, AstraZeneca.

“Five million doses were delivered to the UK a few weeks ago, and we will try to provide more at a later time, depending on the current situation and the needs of the government immunization program in India,” said a spokesperson for the Serum Institute of India.

Shipments from Pfizer and Moderna –

AstraZeneca simply issued a short statement in which it avoided mentioning its international supply chain: “Our UK domestic supply chain is free from disruption and there is no impact on our delivery schedule,” he said.

The United Kingdom, which has already given the first dose to 25.2 million people, half of its adult population, is using AstraZeneca / Oxford and Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines in its massive campaign.

In contact with Agence France-Presse, Pfizer confirmed that vaccine deliveries to the United Kingdom are progressing “as planned” in the first quarter.

“Our projected total supplies for the second quarter have not changed and we are on our way to continue supplying the UK with vaccines from April to June in accordance with our contractual obligations,” he said.

Hancock announced that doses of the third vaccine approved by the British regulator, from the American Moderna Laboratory, will arrive in the United Kingdom “in the next few weeks.”

The country hardest hit by the epidemic in Europe, where 126,000 people have died, the United Kingdom closed all non-essential stores on December 20 and reinforced the lockdown after the Christmas holidays by deciding not to reopen schools.

Students began returning to classes on March 8, and began a very gradual relaxation of restrictions that should not be completed until the end of June.

bur-acc / mar