Tag: shipments

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Italy blocks shipments of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine

Italy blocks shipments of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine

Vial of AstraZeneca vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) on the first day of a mass vaccination by police and fire departments at the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium.

Marcos del Mazo | LightRocket | Getty Images

LONDON – The European Union intervened in the supply of coronavirus vaccines for the first time. Italy reportedly blocked delivery of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to Australia on Thursday.

Reuters, citing two sources, reported that the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca had asked Rome for permission to ship around 250,000 doses from its plant in Anagni, Italy. However, the Italian government refused. The Financial Times also reported the same story.

An AstraZeneca spokesman declined to comment when contacted by CNBC. A spokesman for the EU or the Italian Foreign Ministry was not immediately available to comment.

In January, the European Union temporarily controlled exports of vaccines made within the bloc after AstraZeneca and other supply problems were spat at. The EU has been under pressure from what critics are calling the slow adoption of Covid vaccines.

The European Commission, the body that runs the sales contracts, has been accused of not securing enough vaccines and the region’s medical agency has been criticized for taking too long to approve vaccinations that have given the go-ahead elsewhere have received.

The controls will last until the end of March and give EU member states the power to refuse to authorize exports if vaccine manufacturers fail to comply with contracts.

In January, AstraZeneca announced that it would deliver far fewer cans to the EU than originally expected in the spring due to production problems at its plants in the Netherlands and Belgium. Then on January 31, it announced it would dispose of an additional 9 million doses in the first quarter to make up for the deficit.

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Covid vaccine shipments delayed by storm to reach by midweek: White Home advisor

Covid vaccine shipments delayed by storm to arrive by midweek: White House advisor

Boxes containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are being prepared for shipment on December 13, 2020 at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing facility in Portage, Michigan.

Morry Gash | Getty Images

All deliveries of Covid-19 vaccine doses delayed by the historic winter storm last week are expected to be delivered mid-week, Andy Slavitt, Senior White House Advisor for Covid-19 Response, said Monday.

Slavitt said Friday that shipments of about 6 million cans, equivalent to shipments worth about three days, were delayed by the storm.

“I reported on Friday that we would make up for the deliveries by the end of this week,” said Slavitt on Monday at the Covid-19 White House press conference. “We now assume that any remaining cans will be delivered by the middle of the week.”

He added that the federal government plans to ditch about 7 million vaccine doses on Monday, a combination of shots left behind from last week and some that should run out this week. He said the government’s ability to catch up quickly on the storm was thanks to members of the military and McKesson staff who the government hired to assist with distribution and logistics in getting the vaccine up and running.

“Seventy McKesson employees volunteered to work Saturday night and Sunday morning at 1am to prepare shipments for an 11am transit deadline,” he said, adding that UPS employees are also flexible on delayed deliveries could react.

Slavitt added that although the White House expected to catch up on the doses dispensed quickly, “it will take some time” for vaccination centers to catch up on vaccinations.

“We encourage vaccination centers to follow the same example of those who work longer hours to catch up on supplies by allowing more appointments to vaccinate the anxious public as soon as possible,” he said. Slavitt added that vaccination centers are still closed in some parts of the country that were particularly hard hit by the storm.

The pace of vaccination in Texas, rocked by the storm that left millions in the state without electricity, suffered badly. Slavitt said the 7-day average of daily doses received fell 31% over the past week.

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Historic winter storm delays Covid vaccine shipments throughout the U.S.

Historic winter storm delays Covid vaccine shipments across the U.S.

Snow plow carts clear a street in New York, United States on Thursday, December 17, 2020.

Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Deliveries of Covid-19 vaccine doses were delayed in several states this week due to historic winter storms across the country, state and federal officials said.

Almost all of the cans that were supposed to arrive in New York state this past weekend have been delayed, Governor Andrew Cuomo said late Thursday.

“Any dose that should have been shipped on Monday was withheld and limited numbers of Pfizer vaccines left shipping facilities on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Cuomo said, adding that the state is working with vendors to “increase the number reduce the deadlines that are required. ” be moved. “

It’s not just New York. Samantha Bequer, a spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said more than 200,000 cans expected this week had not arrived.

“The state is still expecting full vaccine allocation by week 10,” Bequer said in a statement. “Yesterday, the state was notified that federal deliveries of Moderna vaccines are still being delayed due to severe weather. At this point in time, the state has not been given a new timetable for when expected delayed deliveries will occur.”

Bequer said the state is working with vendors advising them to postpone, but not cancel, vaccine appointments hit by the setbacks.

In Colorado, state officials said earlier this week that a shipment of more than 130,000 cans was delayed due to the storm. They said the storm hit a vaccine distribution center in Tennessee, which has pushed back shipments to several states.

The North Carolina Department of Health said Thursday it had been informed by the federal government of ongoing delays in some deliveries and deliveries this week due to severe weather.

The Virginia Department of Health said Thursday that the expected delivery of more than 106,000 shots will likely be delayed “due to distribution channels in the Midwest and elsewhere that are currently closed”.

Andy Slavitt, the White House’s senior advisor on Covid Response, confirmed Friday that there is now about 6 million doses backlog affecting all 50 states. “Many states” were able to make up for the missed deliveries with existing inventory, he said at a Covid-19 briefing in the White House.

Health officials in California, Louisiana, and Georgia have also confirmed delays in their shipments.

The Georgian Ministry of Health announced earlier this week that Pfizer and Moderna were holding shipments due to the weather, which “severely affected shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to Georgia”.

White House officials have recognized the setbacks. The chief physician Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Thursday that the storm is creating a significant problem for vaccine distribution.

“Well, obviously it’s a problem. It slowed down and stalled in some places,” Fauci told MSNBC. “We just have to make up for it as soon as the weather subsides a bit, the ice melts and we can get the trucks and the people out.”

Slavitt told CNN Thursday evening that officials “will have to work double next week, provided the weather improves”. However, he added that “there has not been a single vaccine that is spoiled”.

“We will keep these vaccines safe and sound, then give them to people and catch up as soon as the weather allows,” he said.

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Biden speaks at Pfizer vaccine manufacturing website as storm delays shipments

Biden speaks at Pfizer vaccine manufacturing site as storm delays shipments

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President Joe Biden speaks at Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Friday as his government works to increase the supply of doses in the U.S.

Earlier in the day, government officials said the massive winter storms in the Midwest and Texas had delayed delivery of 6 million Covid-19 vaccine doses this week, affecting every state in the US. The backlog equates to three days of late deliveries, Andy Slavitt, Senior White House Advisor on Covid Response, said during a news conference.

Slavitt also announced that the government is working with Florida and Pennsylvania to open five more vaccination centers.

Four of the five vaccination centers will be located in the cities of Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Florida. The four sites could vaccinate up to 12,000 people a day. A fifth center in Philadelphia will be able to vaccinate 6,000 people a day, he said.

Read CNBC’s live updates for the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.

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Winter storm delays shipments of 6 million Covid vaccine doses in U.S.: Officers

Winter storm delays shipments of 6 million Covid vaccine doses in U.S.: Officials

On February 18, 2021, vehicles will be idle on Interstate Highway 35 heading south in Killeen, Texas.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Massive winter storms in the Midwest and Texas have delayed the delivery of 6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, affecting every US state, the nation’s leading health officials said on Friday.

The backlog equates to three days of late deliveries, Andy Slavitt, White House senior advisor on Covid’s response, said during a news conference.

“Many states have been able to cover some of this delay with existing inventory,” said Slavitt.

The late deliveries are due to three major weather-related throttling points in the vaccines distribution chain, he said. Delivery centers at UPS, FedEx and McKesson that have been hired to deliver the cans to the states have reported staff shortages.

Slavitt said her workers were “snowed in and unable to come to work to package the vaccines, administration kits and other supplies.”

Road closures have also held up delivery of the vaccines between manufacturing facilities and shipping centers. In addition, more than 2,000 vaccine distribution points cannot receive doses because they are in places that are hampered by power outages, he said.

Continue reading: Covid live updates: Scientists are pushing for an optimized vaccination process

Because of the strict cold chain requirements for storing the cans in extremely cold temperatures, it is better to withhold the shipments than to send them to places where the shots may expire if they cannot be administered within three days. He said the vaccines are “safe and sound sitting in our factories and hubs and ready to ship.”

“As weather conditions improve, we are already trying to clear that backlog,” Slavitt said, adding that 1.4 million cans will be shipped on Friday. He said the government expected “all residue cans will be delivered within the next week.”

“We assume that we can handle this backlog and the new production that goes online next week,” said Slavitt.

Ahead of Friday’s briefing, US officials raised the alarm that their vaccine shipments were delayed this week. The massive winter storm closed distribution centers, leaving millions of people in states like Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi without power.

The Chief Medical Officer of the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned Thursday that the power outages and winter storm in Texas are a “significant” problem for Covid-19 vaccine distribution this week. The Biden government is asking vaccination centers to extend their working hours and offer additional appointments in the coming days and weeks to catch up, Slavitt said on Friday.

“If we all work together, from the factory to the vaccines, we’ll make up for that in the coming week,” he said.

Slavitt announced Friday that the government is working with Florida and Pennsylvania to open five more vaccination centers.

Four of the five vaccination centers will be located in the cities of Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Florida. The four locations can vaccinate a total of up to 12,000 people per day. The fifth center will be in Philadelphia and vaccinate 6,000 people a day.

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Altria mentioned cigarette business shipments flattened in 2020

Altria said cigarette industry shipments flattened in 2020

Marlboro cigarettes, a product of Philip Morris International

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

After years of accelerating smoking decline, tobacco giant Altria announced a trend reversal as U.S. cigarette volumes remained unchanged year over year across the industry.

However, the company declined to predict how things would play out in 2021, as it is unclear whether the factors that contributed to this trend would continue.

The pandemic brought more people into their homes, giving smokers more opportunities to take a break from their hectic days and glow more often, especially given the overall higher levels of stress and anxiety due to the economy and health crisis. Employees who worked from home were no longer in a smoke-free office, and consumers generally had more disposable income from restrictions on other forms of entertainment such as restaurants and bars, movie theaters, and travel.

The trend was more pronounced in Altria’s own store. The Marlboro maker’s total cigarette shipping volume declined 0.4% from 2019 and rose 3.1% in the fourth quarter. For comparison: Altria’s cigarette volume decreased by 7.3% from 2018 to 2019.

Altria said it is paying close attention to trends that could affect future cigarette sales.

“Looking ahead, we expect the volume trends in the cigarette industry in 2021 to be driven most by home smoker practices, unemployment rates, tax incentives, cross-category movements, timing and breadth of COVID-19 use – Vaccines and consumer purchasing behavior following vaccine will be affected, “Altria said on a conference call on revenue.

With the expected decline in smoking, Altria has invested in alternatives to cigarettes such as the heated tobacco product iQos and nicotine pouches.

Altria shares closed Thursday at $ 42.65, up 1.98%. The stock is down nearly 15% over the past year for a market value of $ 79.26 billion.

For the fourth quarter, the company reported net income of $ 1.92 billion, or $ 1.03 per share, compared to a loss of $ 1.81 billion a year ago. Excluding items, Altria earned 99 cents per share, which was below analyst estimates. Revenue was better than expected, increasing to $ 6.3 billion from $ 6 billion a year ago.

For 2021, after adjustments, the company expects earnings of $ 4.49 to $ 4.62 per share.