意大利總理朱塞佩·孔特1月23日就輝瑞公司和阿斯利康推遲交付新冠疫苗發出警告，稱意大利方面將“動用一切可行法律手段”維權。此前，繼美國輝瑞公司表示無法按時交付疫苗后，英國藥企阿斯利康近日也告知歐盟，其第一季度的供貨數量或將削減60%。

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.

意大利外長路易吉·迪馬約1月24日表示，意大利將就推遲交付新冠疫苗一事對輝瑞公司和阿斯利康采取法律行動，并在歐盟對兩家藥企施加壓力，以確保疫苗按合同約定交付。

with a view to：以…為目的

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.

迪馬約對意大利國家電視臺說，這是為了讓兩家公司按時足量交付疫苗，而不是為了尋求賠償。

“This is a European contract that Pfizer and AstraZeneca are not respecting and so for this reason we will take legal action... We are working so our vaccine plan programme does not change,” he said.

他說：“輝瑞和阿斯利康不尊重這份與歐洲簽訂的合同，因此我們將采取法律行動……我們正在努力使我們的疫苗計劃如期執行。”

Pfizer said last week it was temporarily slowing supplies to Europe to make manufacturing changes that would boost output. The EU has ordered 600 million doses from Pfizer.

輝瑞上周表示，該公司正在暫時放緩對歐洲的供應，以便對生產進行調整，進一步提高產量。歐盟已經從輝瑞公司訂購了6億劑新冠疫苗。

On Friday, AstraZeneca said initial deliveries to the region will fall short because of a production problem. A spokesman for AstraZeneca said on Friday that "initial volumes will be lower than originally anticipated" without giving further details.

阿斯利康于1月22日表示，由于生產問題，將削減向歐盟地區的首批供貨數量。該公司一位發言人1月22日表示，“第一批交付數量將低于最初預期”，但未透露更多細節。

Officials have not confirmed publicly how big the shortfall will be, but an unnamed EU official told Reuters news agency that deliveries would be reduced to 31m - a cut of 60% - in the first quarter of this year.

歐盟官員們尚未公開證實缺口將有多大，但一位不具名的歐盟官員告訴路透社，今年第一季度的疫苗交貨量將減少60%，只有3100萬劑。

Asked why he thought the pharmaceutical companies had been forced to announce reductions, Di Maio said he believed they had simply bitten off more than they could chew.

當被問及為什么他認為兩家制藥公司被迫宣布削減交付數量時，迪馬約說，他認為藥企只是接單太多，無法按期交付。

“We are activating all channels so the EU Commission does all it can to make these gentlemen respect their contracts,” he said.

他說：“我們正在想盡一切辦法，以便歐盟委員會盡其所能讓兩家公司尊重他們的合同。”

No one was immediately available to comment at Pfizer in Italy. AstraZeneca did not immediately reply to an email and voice message.

輝瑞在意大利的工作人員沒有立即發表評論。阿斯利康也沒有立即回復郵件和語音信息。

Also on Sunday European Council President Charles Michel said the EU would use legal means to ensure pharmaceutical companies respect supply contracts for COVID-19 vaccines.

同樣在1月24日，歐洲理事會主席夏爾·米歇爾表示，歐盟將動用法律手段確保制藥公司遵守新冠疫苗供應合同。

“We plan to make the pharmaceutical companies respect the contracts they have signed ... by using the legal means at our disposal,” Michel said on Europe 1 radio.

米歇爾在歐洲第一廣播電臺的節目上說：“我們將動用一切可行的法律手段讓制藥公司尊重他們簽訂的合同。”

Sky Italia TV cited Pfizer on Sunday as saying the cuts, to the number of vials delivered and not the number of doses, had been due to work to increase capacity at a Belgian plant. Supplies would return to normal as of next week, Sky cited Pfizer as saying.

意大利天空電視臺1月24日援引輝瑞公司的話說，削減交付的是藥瓶數量，而不是疫苗劑量，這是為了增加比利時工廠的產能。供應將在下周恢復正常。

vial [?va??l]：n.小瓶；藥水瓶

On Saturday Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the delays in vaccine supplies were “unacceptable” and amounted to a serious breach of contractual obligations, adding that Italy would use all available legal tools.

意大利總理朱塞佩·孔特1月23日說，藥企推遲交付疫苗嚴重違反合同，“不可接受”， 意大利將動用一切可行法律手段維權。

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，意大利衛生部副部長皮埃爾保羅·西萊里在意大利電視臺的節目上說，輝瑞和阿斯利康宣布削減供應將使意大利80歲以上人群的疫苗接種時間推遲約四周，其他人群推遲約六到八周。

“This kind of delay affects the whole of Europe and a good part of the world but I am confident the delay can be made up for further down the road,” he said.

他說：“疫苗延遲交付會影響到整個歐洲和全球大部分地區，但是我相信，可以在今后補足。”

英文來源：路透社

翻譯&編輯：yaning