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Italy will take legal action against Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca against delays in deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines to secure agreed supplies rather than seek damage, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the delays in vaccine supplies were "unacceptable" and amounted to a serious breach of contractual obligations.
Italy will have to rethink its whole vaccination programme if supply problems persist, a senior health officer warned. Asked why he thought the pharmaceutical companies had been forced to announce reductions, Mr. Di Maio said he believed they had simply bitten off more than they could chew.
"We are activating all channels so the EU Commission does all it can to make these gentlemen respect their contracts," he said. Pfizer last week said it was temporarily slowing supplies to Europe to make manufacturing changes that would boost output.