France supports Italy's decision to block COVID-19 vaccines export to Australia

France on Friday backed its European partner Italy over the latter's decision to block the export of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine doses to Australia. French Health Minister Olivier Veran, during an interview on March 5, said he understands the decision, adding he "could do the same" if needed. This comes after Australia slammed the European Union and Italy, accusing them of "tearing the rule book" amid a global crisis. Australian Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said the move shows the desperation of other countries as compared to Australia. 

Read: Australia Asks EU To Stop Blocking Vaccine Exports

The controversy

According to reports, Italy blocked about 2,50,000 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine from leaving the country. The blockade was later approved by the European Union. This is the first instance when a European country has used the new EU law to prevent vaccine doses from being exported. The law was introduced after AstraZeneca said it would not be able to fulfill its contractual obligation with the EU due to production issues. However, the bloc believed that AstraZeneca was supplying its share of vaccine doses to other countries, hence, the law.

Read: EU, Italy Stop AstraZeneca Vaccine Exports To Australia

The decision to withheld the doses comes after a month-long tussle between AstraZeneca and the European Union, which faced a shortage of jabs following the company informed of a delay. According to reports, the Italian foreign ministry justified Rome's action saying Australia falls under the "non-vulnerable" category when it comes to the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 disease so far. The ministry said that the decision is a result of the continued shortage of vaccines in Italy and Europe. 

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Meanwhile, Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said the blockade will not affect the ongoing effort to vaccine Australians, adding the decision impacted just one shipment from one country, which anyhow would not have been used until after a few weeks. Australia's COVID-19 handling has been comparatively better than its peers in the West. The country has reported a little over 29,000 cases and 909 deaths to date. 

Read: Australia Slams Italy For Blocking COVID-19 Vaccine Shipment Using New EU Law