AstraZeneca vaccine plant evacuated as company feuds with EU

An AstraZeneca plant in Wales was evacuated over a suspicious package on Wednesday as the vaccine-maker’s feud with the EU escalates.

An AstraZeneca plant in Wales was evacuated and the bomb disposal unit called after a “suspicious package” was found.

The industrial estate where the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine is put into vials and syringes was partially evacuated while the package was investigated.

Wockhardt UK, the company that operates the site, said in a statement: “Wockhardt UK in Wrexham this morning received a suspicious package to site. All relevant authorities were immediately notified and engaged.

“Upon expert advice we have partially evacuated the site pending a full investigation. The safety of our employees and business continuity remain of paramount importance.”

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An AstraZeneca vaccine plant in north Wales was evacuated after a suspicious package was reported. Picture: Paul Ellis / AFP

North Wales Police said a bomb squad was at the site and advised the public to avoid the area.

“We are currently dealing with an ongoing incident on the Wrexham Industrial Estate,” they said in a statement.

Wales’s First Minister Mark Drakeford said the government were investigating with local police and the military.

Big police activity by Wochadt Wrexham industrial estate. @wrexham pic.twitter.com/2ieb69E2vW

— ian hunter (@ian_hunter9) January 27, 2021

We are working with local police and the military to find out more about this incident. Thank you to the security personnel who are on-site to protect lives and ensure the safety of our vaccine supply. This highlights the vital role they play in keeping us all safe. Diolch. https://t.co/ToapAMj62j

— Mark Drakeford (@fmwales) January 27, 2021

“We are working with local police and the military to find out more about this incident,” he said. “Thank you to the security personnel who are on-site to protect lives and ensure the safety of our vaccine supply. This highlights the vital role they play in keeping us all safe.”

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A health worker shows a vial of Covishield, AstraZeneca-Oxford's COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine, at Patan Hospital near Kathmandu on January 27. Picture: Prakash Mathema / AFP

Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton said she had spoken with Wockhardt UK and was “assured that they are doing everything to keep their employees and the businesses around them safe.”

Meanwhile AstraZeneca is locked in an escalating feud with the European Union over coronavirus vaccine shortages.

The European commission claimed the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company had pulled out of a meeting over the supply breakdown, only for an AstraZeneca spokesman to say this was not the case and the firm would attend the meeting.

AstraZeneca has warned the EU of a possible 60 per cent shortfall in supply after lower than expected yields at its Belgium plant.