The first deliveries of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the Europe Union have begun, as political leaders moved to bolster public confidence in the jab.

From Lyon in France to Sofia in Bulgaria, hundreds of thousands of doses have been distributed in line with the bloc's collective vaccine strategy.

It's expected to alleviate some of the pressure on EU nations' inoculation campaigns, as supplies remain limited because of a delivery shortfall from vaccine manufacturers.

All three pharmaceutical companies' jabs approved by the EU – those from Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca – have previously announced cuts to their first-quarter deliveries. 

Italy received nearly 250,000 doses in its first shipments – a fraction of what was originally promised.

Italian officials tasked with distributing the jabs say they're now more focused on making sure every vaccine goes to use.

"It does not matter if it is a lot or if it is a little," said Domenico Arcuri, Italy's COVID-19 commissioner. "The important thing is that the plan goes ahead without losing a single minute with respect to the arrival and delivery of the doses."

On Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, France's Health Minister Olivier Veran and his German counterpart Jens Spahn all voiced their support for the vaccine amid growing concerns about its efficacy among older people and against the variant first discovered in South Africa. 

Johnson said: "We think that both the vaccines that we're currently using [AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech] are effective at stopping serious disease and death."

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France received its first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday night and was quick to make use of it.

Inoculations of medical workers with the jab began at midday on Saturday.

France leads a growing list of EU nations, including Sweden and Germany, that are keeping the vaccine away from people aged under 65.

"The data situation for the elderly is not sufficient," said Spahn, during a meeting about the vaccine.

Some scientists disagree with trial data conclusions behind this decision and say there are still too many questions. 

The EU is expecting 40 million doses of the vaccine to arrive before April, which is half of what was originally promised by the pharmaceutical giant in contracts signed late in the summer.

Talks between both sides resulted in an extra 9 million doses being promised for first-quarter deliveries.