EU Commission takes legal action against AstraZeneca

The European Unionrsquos executive branch said on Monday that it has launched legal action against coronavirus vaccinemaker AstraZeneca for failing to respect the terms of its contract with the 27nation blocThe AstraZeneca vaccine has been central to Europersquos immunisation campaign European Commission spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker said Brussels launched the legal action against AstraZeneca last Friday ldquoon the basis of breaches of the advance purchase agreementrdquoHe said the reason for the legal action was that ldquosome terms of the contract have not been respectedrdquo and that ldquothe company has not been in a position to come up with a reliable strategy to ensure a timely delivery of dosesrdquoAstraZenecarsquos contract with the EU which was signed by the Commission on behalf of the member countries last August foresaw an initial 300 million doses for member countries with an option for a further 100 million The BritishSwedish drugmaker hoped to deliver 80 million doses of that in the first quarter of 2021 but only 30 million were sent According to the Commission the company is set to provide 70 million doses in the second quarter rather than the 180 million it had promisedAstraZeneca said in a statement that it ldquoregretsrdquo the Commissionrsquos decision to take legal action and it will ldquostrongly defendrdquo itself in courtInfections surge in the PhilippinesConfirmed novel Coronavirus infections in the Philippines surged past 1 million on Monday in the countryrsquos latest grim milestone as officials assess whether to extend a monthlong lockdown in the Manila region amid a deadly spike or relax it to fight an economic recession joblessness and hungerUS to immediately provide raw materialsAfter much criticism the US has assured India that it will immediately provide the specific raw materials required for manufacturing the Covishield vaccine with a top White House official saying that the Biden administration was lsquoworking around the clockrsquo to deploy all resources and supplies to bolster the countryrsquos fight against the deadly COVID19 spikeThailand PM doesnrsquot wear a mask is finedAuthorities in Thailand are imposing fines of up to 20000 baht 640 for people who fail to wear face masks in public in 48 provinces Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha was among the first to be fined for the offence on Monday when the rule took effect in BangkokJohnson denies press reportBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday denied a press report which quoted him as allegedly saying he would rather see ldquobodies pile high in their thousandsrdquo than impose a third national lockdown on the country The Daily Mail claimed that Johnson made the comment in the fall of 2020Landmarks across UAE lit up with tricolour in solidarity with IndiaThe Burj Khalifa in the Indian tricolour PicPTIProminent iconic buildings including the Burj Khalifa in the UAE were lit up with the tricolour to show solidarity with India as it grapples with a growing COVID19 crisis Indiarsquos total tally of COVID19 cases has climbed to 17313163 while active cases have crossed the 28lakh mark The death toll increased to 195123 with a record 2812 new fatalities according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday633968No of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours146689258Total no of cases worldwide3102410Total no of deaths worldwideSource WHOJohns HopkinsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever