The European Union and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca have had a rough vaccine rollout, and many are complaining that regulators were too slow to approve the shots. AstraZeneca repeatedly slashed its delivery commitments, telling the public that they could not deliver as many vaccines as the bloc was counting on, which has led to delays in the COVID-19 vaccine in 27 EU nations. 

The European Commission raised the matter at a meeting of EU ambassadors Wednesday, during which the majority of EU countries said they would support suing the company on the grounds that it massively under-delivered pledged coronavirus vaccine doses to the bloc. However, five to six countries have raised concerns about launching a lawsuit against AstraZeneca, saying that the lawsuit wouldn’t guarantee that the EU got more doses. 

Some ambassadors also felt that launching a lawsuit would damage the image of AstraZeneca, diminishing citizens’ trust in the vaccine. In March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had expressed disappointment with AstraZeneca during a press conference, saying that “AstraZeneca has unfortunately under-produced and under-delivered. And this painfully, of course, reduced the speed of the vaccination campaign.” AstraZeneca’s CEO Pascal Soriot had told EU lawmakers in February that low yields at EU production plants were causing the delays. 

EU countries also discussed on Wednesday contracts for more EU vaccines, following the Commission’s announcement last week that the EU secured 1.8 billion BioNTech/Pfizer vaccines through 2023. According to a diplomat, some ambassadors worried that the EU essentially is giving Pfizer a “monopoly” and said the EU needs to have a broad portfolio of vaccines. 

A spokesman for AstraZeneca said the company was not aware of any legal proceedings "and continues to hold regular discussions on supply with the commission and member states.” The EU has also decided not to take up an option to buy 100 million extra doses of AstraZeneca under the contract, after safety concerns about very rare cases of blood clots linked to the vaccine as well as supply delays.