Italy will take legal action and step up pressure in Brussels against Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca over delays in deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines with a view to securing agreed supplies, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday.
意大利外长路易吉·迪马约1月24日表示，意大利将就推迟交付新冠疫苗一事对辉瑞公司和阿斯利康采取法律行动，并在欧盟对两家药企施加压力，以确保疫苗按合同约定交付。
with a view to：以…为目的
The aim was to get the companies to meet the vaccine volumes they had promised and not to seek compensation, Di Maio said on RAI state television.
迪马约对意大利国家电视台说，这是为了让两家公司按时足量交付疫苗，而不是为了寻求赔偿。
“This is a European contract that Pfizer and AstraZeneca are not respecting and so for this reason we will take legal action... We are working so our vaccine plan programme does not change,” he said.
他说：“辉瑞和阿斯利康不尊重这份与欧洲签订的合同，因此我们将采取法律行动……我们正在努力使我们的疫苗计划如期执行。”
Pfizer said last week it was temporarily slowing supplies to Europe to make manufacturing changes that would boost output. The EU has ordered 600 million doses from Pfizer.
辉瑞上周表示，该公司正在暂时放缓对欧洲的供应，以便对生产进行调整，进一步提高产量。欧盟已经从辉瑞公司订购了6亿剂新冠疫苗。
On Friday, AstraZeneca said initial deliveries to the region will fall short because of a production problem. A spokesman for AstraZeneca said on Friday that "initial volumes will be lower than originally anticipated" without giving further details.
阿斯利康于1月22日表示，由于生产问题，将削减向欧盟地区的首批供货数量。该公司一位发言人1月22日表示，“第一批交付数量将低于最初预期”，但未透露更多细节。
Officials have not confirmed publicly how big the shortfall will be, but an unnamed EU official told Reuters news agency that deliveries would be reduced to 31m - a cut of 60% - in the first quarter of this year.
欧盟官员们尚未公开证实缺口将有多大，但一位不具名的欧盟官员告诉路透社，今年第一季度的疫苗交货量将减少60%，只有3100万剂。
Asked why he thought the pharmaceutical companies had been forced to announce reductions, Di Maio said he believed they had simply bitten off more than they could chew.
当被问及为什么他认为两家制药公司被迫宣布削减交付数量时，迪马约说，他认为药企只是接单太多，无法按期交付。
“We are activating all channels so the EU Commission does all it can to make these gentlemen respect their contracts,” he said.
他说：“我们正在想尽一切办法，以便欧盟委员会尽其所能让两家公司尊重他们的合同。”
No one was immediately available to comment at Pfizer in Italy. AstraZeneca did not immediately reply to an email and voice message.
辉瑞在意大利的工作人员没有立即发表评论。阿斯利康也没有立即回复邮件和语音信息。
Also on Sunday European Council President Charles Michel said the EU would use legal means to ensure pharmaceutical companies respect supply contracts for COVID-19 vaccines.
同样在1月24日，欧洲理事会主席夏尔·米歇尔表示，欧盟将动用法律手段确保制药公司遵守新冠疫苗供应合同。
“We plan to make the pharmaceutical companies respect the contracts they have signed ... by using the legal means at our disposal,” Michel said on Europe 1 radio.
米歇尔在欧洲第一广播电台的节目上说：“我们将动用一切可行的法律手段让制药公司尊重他们签订的合同。”
Sky Italia TV cited Pfizer on Sunday as saying the cuts, to the number of vials delivered and not the number of doses, had been due to work to increase capacity at a Belgian plant. Supplies would return to normal as of next week, Sky cited Pfizer as saying.
意大利天空电视台1月24日援引辉瑞公司的话说，削减交付的是药瓶数量，而不是疫苗剂量，这是为了增加比利时工厂的产能。供应将在下周恢复正常。
vial [ˈvaɪəl]：n.小瓶；药水瓶
On Saturday Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the delays in vaccine supplies were “unacceptable” and amounted to a serious breach of contractual obligations, adding that Italy would use all available legal tools.
意大利总理朱塞佩·孔特1月23日说，药企推迟交付疫苗严重违反合同，“不可接受”， 意大利将动用一切可行法律手段维权。
Speaking on Italian TV on Sunday Italy’s Deputy Health Minister Pierpaolo Sileri said the cut in supplies announced by Pfizer and AstraZeneca would put back vaccination of the over-80s in Italy by about four weeks and the rest of the population by about 6-8 weeks.
1月24日，意大利卫生部副部长皮埃尔保罗·西莱里在意大利电视台的节目上说，辉瑞和阿斯利康宣布削减供应将使意大利80岁以上人群的疫苗接种时间推迟约四周，其他人群推迟约六到八周。
“This kind of delay affects the whole of Europe and a good part of the world but I am confident the delay can be made up for further down the road,” he said.
他说：“疫苗延迟交付会影响到整个欧洲和全球大部分地区，但是我相信，可以在今后补足。”
本文来源：中国日报网
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