EU Warns It Could Block Vaccine Exports, Wields Legal Threat at Drugmakers

EU Warns It Could Block Vaccine Exports, Wields Legal Threat at Drugmakers
A vial, syringe, and small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed EU flag in this illustration taken Jan. 11, 2021. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters
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BRUSSELS—Europe’s fight to secure COVID-19 vaccine supplies intensified on Thursday when the European Union warned drug companies such as AstraZeneca that it would use all legal means or even block exports unless they agreed to deliver shots as promised.

The EU, whose member states are far behind Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States in rolling out vaccines, is scrambling to get supplies just as the West’s biggest drugmakers slow deliveries to the bloc due to production problems.