Italy to take legal action

意大利向疫苗厂商催单

Italy will take legal action and step up pressure in Brussels against Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca over delays in deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines with a view to securing agreed supplies, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday.

意大利外长路易吉•迪马约1月24日表示，意大利将就推迟交付新冠疫苗一事对辉瑞公司和阿斯利康采取法律行动，并在欧盟对两家药企施加压力，以确保疫苗按合同约定交付。

The aim was to get the companies to meet the vaccine volumes they had promised and not to seek compensation, Di Maio said on RAI state television.

迪马约对意大利国家电视台说，这是为了让两家公司按时足量交付疫苗，而不是为了寻求赔偿。

Pfizer said last week it was temporarily slowing supplies to Europe to make manufacturing changes that would boost output.

辉瑞上周表示，该公司正在暂时放缓对欧洲的供应，以便对生产进行调整，进一步提高产量。

The EU has ordered 600 million doses from Pfizer.

欧盟已经从辉瑞公司订购了6亿剂新冠疫苗。

On Friday, AstraZeneca said initial deliveries to the region will fall short because of a production problem.

阿斯利康于1月22日表示，由于生产问题，将削减向欧盟地区的首批供货数量。

A spokesman for AstraZeneca said that "initial volumes will be lower than originally anticipated" without giving further details.

该公司一位发言人表示，"第一批交付数量将低于最初预期"，但未透露更多细节。

Speaking on Italian TV on Sunday Italy's Deputy Health Minister Pierpaolo Sileri said the cut in supplies announced by Pfizer and AstraZeneca would put back vaccination of the over-80s in Italy by about four weeks and the rest of the population by about 6-8 weeks.

1月24日，意大利卫生部副部长皮埃尔保罗•西莱里在意大利电视台的节目上说，辉瑞和阿斯利康宣布削减供应将使意大利80岁以上人群的疫苗接种时间推迟约四周，其他人群推迟约六到八周。