EU legal action against AstraZeneca won't help get more vaccines -German health minister

The European Commission is working on legal proceedings against AstraZeneca after the drugmaker cut COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the European Union, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Launching legal action against AstraZeneca will not help the European Union secure vaccine doses more quickly, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday. "It is much more important to me that I get these vaccines," Spahn told a weekly news conference in Berlin, adding that the EU should cooperate with AstraZeneca to get as many deliveries as quickly as possible.

While legal procedures and liability issues will have to be cleared up, Spahn said they were "not a priority" at this stage in the pandemic. The European Commission is working on legal proceedings against AstraZeneca after the drugmaker cut COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the European Union, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.