Foreign
THE European Union has authorized the export of more than 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Japan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.
This, von der Leyen said, could also be seen as the EU’s support for the preparation of the Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Tokyo July 23 to Aug 8. after being postponed in 2020.
“We are looking forward to the Olympic Games,’’ she said.
The export authorization to Japan “is a strong sign that we support any preparation for the Olympic Games and the safety of these games,’’ she said.
The doses would cover 40 percent of the population, according to von der Leyen. The Olympics have come under increasing scrutiny since a new virus wave surged in the country in April.
Less than 3 percent of the country has been fully vaccinated, and only 6 percent has received at least one jab.
Not only the Olympic Games have come under fire in recent months.
The EU has been accused of hoarding vaccines, and World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had warned that 75 percent of all vaccines had been administered in just 10 countries.
The EU disputes such criticism, arguing that it is the biggest exporter of vaccines in the world.
At the beginning of May, 200 million exports of vaccine doses had left the bloc so far, covering over 90 countries, according to the commission.
The bloc introduced new rules in January under which the EU can block vaccine exports if it believes that manufacturers owe the member states doses. (dpa/NAN)
– May 27, 2021 @ 15:57 GMT
Tags: EU exports 100m vaccines to Japan in support of Olympics
