Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he could understand Italy’s reasoning for the blockade.
He said: “In Italy, people are dying at the rate of 300 a day. And so I can certainly understand the high level of anxiety that would exist in Italy and in many countries across Europe.”
Australia insists the EU’s export ban will not heavily impact its mass vaccination programme.
Australia urges EU to reconsider vaccine export ban (Image: GETTY)
Ursula von der Leyen signed off on the vaccine export ban (Image: GETTY)
The country has already received some 300,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is expected to last until local production ramps up later this month.