Prognosis
India Shipment of Astra Vaccine Said to Be Behind U.K. Delay
- U.K. is facing a four-week cut in supply from late March
- Britain shifts focus to providing second doses to vulnerable
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A delayed shipment of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine from India and a batch requiring re-testing are behind a cut in the U.K.’s supply starting this month, the first major interruption in Britain’s vaccine rollout.
Doses made by one of Astra’s manufacturing partners, the Serum Institute of India Ltd., have been stalled, and another 1.7 million shots have been kept back in the last week for further checks on their stability, U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Parliament in a statement Thursday. The Serum delays account for four million doses, according to the U.K. Department of Health and Social Care.