UK-Made AstraZeneca Vaccines Quietly Sent To Australia: Report

As countries race to vaccinate their populations against the coronavirus, the export of immunisations has come into dispute wherever large numbers of people are awaiting a shot.

Hundreds of thousands of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been flown to Australia from Britain but the source of the shipments was kept quiet to avoid any controversy in Britain, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. As countries race to vaccinate their populations against the coronavirus, the export of immunisations has come into dispute wherever large numbers of people are awaiting a shot. The European Union, hit by delays in vaccine supply, introduced export controls on EU-produced shots in January. The Sydney Morning Herald said that more than 700,000 vaccines flown to Australia were manufactured in Britain and not in Europe as had been widely believed. The shipments arrived after the EU introduced the curbs on vaccine exports, it said. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said his government had not sent any vaccines to Australia and any exports that had taken place were a matter for the companies concerned.