Spring in the European Union is going to be dismal. The bloc faces a vaccine supply shortage of its own making, which will delay member states from reopening and weigh on their economic recovery into the summer. Rather than taking responsibility, Brussels tried to deflect attention from its mistakes by launching a public spat with pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, imposing export controls on vaccine makers and causing a minor diplomatic crisis with the United Kingdom.
Finger-pointing and export bans are not substitutes for common sense public health policy. Instead, Europe must make the most of a bad situation. It should focus on vaccinating as many high-risk people as possible, as efficiently as possible, with the limited supply of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines available. It should (but will probably not) act collectively to support its most vulnerable member states. And it should act now to confront the anti-vaccine challenge, which if left unchecked could derail the entire reopening effort.
