UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has denied claims by the European Union that it has implemented an outright ban on the export of vaccines to other countries.

European Council President Charles Michel made the claim in a newsletter sent to subscribers on Tuesday after the EU was accused of "vaccine nationalism."

The bloc has been criticized for its slow roll out of vaccines to member states, which currently significantly lags the UK, U.S., China and many other developed countries.

But Michel says the EU has restricted exports of vaccines because it hasn't received the allocation of doses it ordered from various manufacturers but maintains it is doing more to help other countries than many other nations.

READ MORE

Rare meteorite lands in UK

China's Two Sessions at a glance

Should you worry about Long COVID-19?

How did the row start?

An excerpt from the newsletter read: "The United Kingdom and the United States have imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on their territory. 

"But the European Union, the region with the largest vaccine production capacity in the world, has simply put in place a system for controlling the export of doses produced in the EU."

However, speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Johnson hit back. He said: "I wish to correct the suggestion from the European Council President that the UK has blocked COVID-19 vaccine exports. 

"Let me be clear we haven't blocked the export of a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine components. We oppose vaccine nationalism in all its forms."

On Wednesday morning, the EU's charge d'affaires Nicole Mannion was summoned by the UK government to discuss the matter. But even that was twinged with post-Brexit tension. She is effectively the EU's deputy ambassador to Britain.  

"The UK hasn't accredited the EU representative as an ambassador, so that's less convenient if you want to summon him," an EU official said before the meeting. 

Late on Tuesday evening, Michel appeared to soften his stance on the issue of vaccine exports on Twitter. "Glad if the UK reaction leads to more transparency and increased exports, to EU and third countries," he tweeted.

"[There are] Different ways of imposing bans or restrictions on vaccines/medicines. The EU is providing vaccines for its citizens and the rest of the world. No one is safe until everyone is safe."

In an interview with Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, AstraZeneca's CEO Pascal Soriot said the UK's early approval of the vaccine meant it was able to receive doses before production problems arose.

He said: "Europe at the time wanted to be supplied more or less at the same time as the UK, even though the contract was signed three months later."

What vaccines has the EU ordered?

The EU has ordered vaccines on behalf of each of its 27 member states as part of the EU vaccination scheme but the program has been beset by delays.

The bloc has agreements with AstraZeneca (400 million doses), Sanofi-GSK (300 million doses), Johnson and Johnson (400 million doses), BioNTech-Pfizer 600 million doses, CureVac (405 million doses) and Moderna (160 million doses).

However, the EU expects it will only receive a quarter of its AstraZeneca order by the end of March, while deliveries of Pfizer doses have also been delayed, with the company citing temporary production issues. 

This has left EU countries unable to vaccinate their populations as swiftly as hoped and the EU has introduced new legislation allowing nations to block exports of vaccines to other countries.

Last week, Italy blocked a shipment of 250,000 doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine heading to Australia because it still hasn't received its full supply of jabs.

What vaccines has the UK ordered?

In contrast, the UK has ordered 407 million vaccine doses from seven different suppliers. Of those doses, there are 40 million BioNTech/Pfizer jabs and 100 million from Oxford/AstraZeneca. The UK has been accused of hoarding vaccine doses but says it will donate most of its surplus supply to other countries.

The UK was the first country in the world to approve the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine in December, with the first vaccination administered on December 8. On December 30, the UK also approved the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In contrast with the EU, the UK hasn't experienced delivery delays of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine and more than 22 million people in the UK have been given at least a single dose of a vaccine. The EU says it has vaccinated nearly 22 million people across 27 countries.