Italy sends warning letter to Pfizer over COVID vaccine delays

ROME, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Italian government on Monday sent a letter of formal notice to Pfizer calling on the drug company to respect its contractual commitments over its COVID-19 vaccine deliveries, the government special commissioner said.

The letter adds to tension between the European Union and the U.S. drug-maker, which announced last week a temporary slowdown in deliveries to the bloc.

"The State Attorney General's Office has sent Pfizer a formal notice to comply with its contractual obligations relating to its failure to deliver vaccine doses," the special commissioner office said in a statement.

Pfizer was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Additional reporting by Michael Erman in New York; Writing by Giselda Vagnoni, editing by Lisa Shumaker)