Eurotopics.net

After Astrazeneca became the third western vaccine manufacturer to announce that it will deliver fewer doses than originally promised to the EU, it has become clear that there will be severe shortages, at least in the first quarter. While vaccines from Russia and China could help to relieve the situation, geopolitical factors are getting in the way. This must change, some commentators stress.

Czech Health Minister Jan Blatný has rejected Germany's offer to relieve the country's overstretched Czech clinics in the border region by transporting corona patients to Bavaria and Saxony. That could lead people to believe the Czech Republic can't take care of its own citizens, he said. Commentators in Prague find this stance utterly incomprehensible.

In Latvia, a new website called manavakcina.lv. was launched on the weekend where anyone who wants to can register for vaccination against Covid-19. As of Tuesday, 62,000 people had registered. Vaccinations have got off to a very slow start in the country, with only around 18,000 of its nearly two million inhabitants having been received the jab so far. The country's press doesn't believe the new website will improve the situation.

EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell travelled to Moscow last week to engage in dialogue on controversial issues such as Navalny's imprisonment. But even as his joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in progress, Russia expelled three EU diplomats. Europe's press is shocked by this affront to which the EU apparently lacks a fitting response.