France said Friday it may follow Italy in blocking Covid-19 vaccine shipments as concerns about vaccine nationalism rise, reports CNN.
The comments by French health minister Olivier Véran came the day after Rome invoked European Union powers to block the export of 250,000 Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Australia, in a dramatic escalation of a dispute between the bloc and the drug giant.
"Of course, I understand what Italy did," Véran said during an interview with CNN affiliate BFM on Friday. "We could do the same thing."
A spokesperson for Italian prime minister Mario Draghi told CNN that Italy and the European Commission had agreed on the action. This is the first time that such EU measures have been used for vaccines. AstraZeneca's supply chain includes a manufacturing plant in Anagni, Italy.
"We are closely discussing with Italians, as well as with all our European partners to have a European approach on the issue." Véran said.
"Since the first day, France has believed in a shared European approach," he added.