PARIS, March 5 (Reuters) - France could block shipments
abroad of COVID-19 vaccines, similar to moves on this front by
Italy, said French Health Minister Olivier Veran on Friday.
Asked by BFM TV if France could follow Italy's move on this,
Veran replied: "We could".
On Thursday, two separate sources told Reuters that the EU
had blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca's vaccine destined
for Australia after the drug manufacturer failed to meet its EU
contract commitments.
The sources said AstraZeneca had requested permission from
the Italian government to export some 250,000 doses from its
Anagni plant, near Rome.
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Toby Chopra)