<p>The European Union said on Friday that it will ease its restrictions on exporting Covid-19 vaccines.</p>.<p>The Commission, the EU's executive arm, said that as of January it will no longer require vaccine producers to request special authorisation to export outside the 27-nation bloc.</p>.<p>Earlier this year when vaccines were still in short supply, the EU introduced a mechanism to keep some of the jabs it secured from AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish drug company, from being diverted elsewhere.</p>.<p>The export control system, aimed at making sure large drug companies would respect their contracts, was used by the EU in March, when a shipment of more than a quarter million AstraZeneca vaccines destined for Australia was blocked from leaving.</p>.<p>When the dispute with AstraZeneca broke, the EU was lagging well behind the United States and other countries in Covid-19 vaccinations. According to Stella Kyriakides, the Commissioner for Health, the bloc has now vaccinated over 65% of the total EU population of some 450 million inhabitants.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/eu-drug-regulator-approves-first-covid-shot-for-5-11-year-olds-1054448.html" target="_blank">EU drug regulator approves first Covid shot for 5-11-year-olds</a></strong></p>.<p>The EU and AstraZeneca said in September that they reached a deal to end their legal battle over the slow pace of deliveries of the company's Covid-19 vaccines.</p>.<p>EU commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant said the “transparency of exports” will be ensured by a new monitoring mechanism that will provide the commission with companies' vaccine export data.</p>.<p>Spinant noted that the EU is the biggest global provider of Covid-19 vaccines, with over 1.3 billion doses exported to more than 150 countries.</p>.<p>Amid a new significant uptick in infections in the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said vaccinations need to be stepped up further.</p>.<p>"We need to convince more people to get vaccinated," she said. "The good news is that we have enough vaccine doses. By the end of this week, Europe will have delivered 1 billion doses to our member states." </p>.<p><strong>Check out latest coronavirus-related videos from <i data-stringify-type="italic">DH</i>:</strong></p>
<p>The European Union said on Friday that it will ease its restrictions on exporting Covid-19 vaccines.</p>.<p>The Commission, the EU's executive arm, said that as of January it will no longer require vaccine producers to request special authorisation to export outside the 27-nation bloc.</p>.<p>Earlier this year when vaccines were still in short supply, the EU introduced a mechanism to keep some of the jabs it secured from AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish drug company, from being diverted elsewhere.</p>.<p>The export control system, aimed at making sure large drug companies would respect their contracts, was used by the EU in March, when a shipment of more than a quarter million AstraZeneca vaccines destined for Australia was blocked from leaving.</p>.<p>When the dispute with AstraZeneca broke, the EU was lagging well behind the United States and other countries in Covid-19 vaccinations. According to Stella Kyriakides, the Commissioner for Health, the bloc has now vaccinated over 65% of the total EU population of some 450 million inhabitants.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/eu-drug-regulator-approves-first-covid-shot-for-5-11-year-olds-1054448.html" target="_blank">EU drug regulator approves first Covid shot for 5-11-year-olds</a></strong></p>.<p>The EU and AstraZeneca said in September that they reached a deal to end their legal battle over the slow pace of deliveries of the company's Covid-19 vaccines.</p>.<p>EU commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant said the “transparency of exports” will be ensured by a new monitoring mechanism that will provide the commission with companies' vaccine export data.</p>.<p>Spinant noted that the EU is the biggest global provider of Covid-19 vaccines, with over 1.3 billion doses exported to more than 150 countries.</p>.<p>Amid a new significant uptick in infections in the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said vaccinations need to be stepped up further.</p>.<p>"We need to convince more people to get vaccinated," she said. "The good news is that we have enough vaccine doses. By the end of this week, Europe will have delivered 1 billion doses to our member states." </p>.<p><strong>Check out latest coronavirus-related videos from <i data-stringify-type="italic">DH</i>:</strong></p>