Pfizer sues Poland over Covid-19 vaccine — RT World News
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has escalated its dispute with Poland over excess Covid-19 vaccine doses ordered under a massive EU contract, filing a lawsuit to demand payment for 60 million doses that Warsaw did not need.
The case was filed this week in Brussels, demanding 6 billion zlotys ($1.5 billion) for vaccines that the Polish government rejected after it stopped receiving vaccines in April 2019. Warsaw was forced to buy its share of COVID-19 vaccines under a controversial contract law. Which the European Commission signed with Pfizer in 2021 on behalf of the European Union countries.
The bloc ended up ordering 1.1 billion doses under the contract, burdening EU countries with a glut of vaccines as the Covid-19 pandemic recedes. The European Union Prosecutor’s Office announced an investigation into the purchase amid allegations of corruption and secret dealings behind the scenes.
Polish officials questioned the role of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in concluding the deal. Von der Leyen admitted to communicating privately with Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s CEO, for weeks during contract negotiations, but the European Commission said last year that no text messages exchanged with the CEO were found.
The first hearing in Pfizer’s lawsuit is scheduled for December 6. The company earlier this year offered to give the European Union more time to complete its minimum purchases of vaccines under the binding contract, but insisted that it would eventually receive the price for the full number. Of the doses that the mass adhered to. Poland refused to sign the revised EU agreement with the pharmaceutical company.
Polish Minister of Health Katarzyna Sozka Tell TVN24 said on Wednesday that there is some hope that the Pfizer lawsuit will be resolved “in a positive way.” She noted that Warsaw is not alone in this case, as other European Union countries will face similar lawsuits.
Pfizer decided to move forward with the lawsuit “After a prolonged breach of contract and a period of good faith discussions between the parties.” Company spokesman Tell POLITICO.
Millions of Poles have refused to receive COVID-19 vaccines, and Warsaw has halted vaccine deliveries, as an influx of Ukrainian refugees in early 2022 strained the government’s finances.
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