European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave updated figures showing the EU as the world's biggest exporter of COVID-19 vaccines, with 77 million doses given to 33 countries, during an EU video summit on Thursday. 

It comes a day after the European Commission tightened rules on authorizing vaccine shipments out of the bloc and UK accusations that Brussels is engaging in vaccine "nationalism."

Von der Leyen presented a video slideshow, showing around 77 million vaccine doses have been exported from the the EU since the start of December 2020.

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That figure comprised 46 million doses exported to 33 countries for their vaccination drives and 31 million doses delivered to 54 countries under COVAX, the World Health Organization-backed initiative to provide vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

Data were also given for vaccine deliveries in the EU, with 88 million doses set to have been distributed in the 27-nation bloc by the end of the week, with 62 million jabs carried out. It means 18.2 million people – 4.1 percent of the EU population of 450 million – will have been fully vaccinated with two jabs.

The graphs underlined the slow start to Europe's vaccination roll-out, with just 100 million doses supplied in the first quarter by three vaccine makers: 66 million from BioNTech/Pfizer, 10 million from Moderna and 30 million (of a contracted 120 million) from AstraZeneca.

Estimates for the second quarter showed 360 million doses should be delivered: 200 million from BioNTech/Pfizer, 35 million from Moderna, 70 million from AstraZeneca (from 180 million originally promised) and 55 million from Johnson & Johnson.

"Together we will ensure that Europeans get their fair share of vaccines," Von der Leyen tweeted.

Her post can be seen as a rebuke to the UK, which fears an EU export authorization scheme for vaccines leaving the bloc could hit its vaccination program, which is running into headwinds after a swift first three months.

AstraZeneca is the focus of the dispute between Brussels and London. 

The Anglo-Swedish company is the mainstay of the UK roll-out and was meant to have been the first-quarter kick-start to Europe's effort but fell badly short.

Both sides are laying claim to AstraZeneca production from a plant in the Netherlands that is about to be authorized for operation.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused Brussels of wanting to break contract law and risking the EU's reputation of openness by tightening the export authorization mechanism.

However, on Wednesday, both sides issued a joint statement speaking of the need to cooperate, given their inter-dependencies in vaccine production, to achieve a "win-win" outcome.