In August, the European Union signed a framework agreement for more than 400 million vaccine doses with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca[1]. The drug was then approved by the European Medicines Agency on Jan. 29, 2021[2]. However, a week earlier the manufacturer surprised by announcing a reduction in supply[3]. According to the EU Commission, less than 40 percent of the expected quantity was to arrive in the foreseeable future[4]. The EU Commission was incensed, because it had promised the Swedish-British company 336 million Euros to increase production since it signed the contract in August, and had already paid out some of this money. According to the EU’s reading, the pharmaceutical company should have been stockpiling production. However, the EU’s accusations and displeasure are based on the “principle of hope” against the manufacturer, where instead clear agreements would actually have been necessary. But “clarity” was replaced here by “ambiguity”. Oscar Wilde left…
