The leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have joined the demand for the pre-authorization distribution of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in the European Union.
The prime ministers of the three Baltic countries appealed to EU institutions on Friday, urging the delivery of the vaccine even though the bloc's regulator has yet to give its OK.
They argue that the early deliveries will allow them to start giving the immunizations at the moment the vaccine's approval is given.
Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Greece are said to have made similar requests recently, as frustration grows across the bloc over the pace of immunizations.
'Speed matters'
"Precision of procedures matters. But so does speed. The delays cost lives," the three prime ministers wrote in identical tweets.
The European Medicines Agency has so far given its approval to vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
The regulator is scheduled to decide on AstraZeneca's next Friday.
