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I'm feeling unreasonably wound up by the 'headlines' I've read.
I'm reading that the EU sent too many doses to other countries.
I'm reading that they were way too late to order enough for EU countries.
I'm reading of the EU seizing medication made in European countries destined for the UK.
What am I missing? because I've just looked in the mirror and I'm starting to look a bit gammon like.
Have you looked at non-UK media for some balance?
Stop reading
No, just my usual source the Daily Mail.
I stopped reading / listening to the news, my life got a lot better.
Best not to read that there are production issues in India and Modi is getting itchy to ban exports. Which incidentally is where the Uk gets a large chunk of its supply.
what you are seeing is the UK media basically trying to justify Brexit by whatever means. Then and us, nasty EU etc. Expect this at every opportunity for years to come. Whilst your kids are working in the fields on piece work, funding Rees Moggs latest extension to his interpretation of Versailles.
I’m reading that the EU sent too many doses to other countries.
Mainly the UK
I’m reading that they were way too late to order enough for EU countries.
But it eventually turned out that the EU had ordered AZ one day before the UK. (edit to add: reveled by an American news organisation)
I’m reading of the EU seizing medication made in European countries destined for the UK
About time too, it hasn't happened up till now but at some point you have to stop the pharma companies taking the piss.
Look at it from an EU perspective, for some reason the UK has managed to vaccinate six times the proportion of the population that the EU has and it's not because the UK ordered first because it didn't.
All as clear as mud, Boris and Co. playing games again and if reasonable means won't stop them it's time to requisition.
Best get used to it.
This is what our relationship with the EU is going to look like from now on.
This, and the legal action against the UK government for unilaterally acting in breach of the NI protocol, are the opening salvo's in an increasingly confrontational and acrimonious accord with our neighbours.
It's the sign of lots more to come. Good old Brexit, eh?
Making the EU look like the bad guys.
Remember:
Brexit is Good.
Europe is Bad.
Boris is Hero.
Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave!
As far as I can tell, the most recent headlines about "massive reduction in supply" a mere few days after a headlines about "a massive increase in supply" have been caused by delay from a lab/factory in India, although earlier blame was being laid at the feet of the EU.
This seems to have come as a surprise to Astrazeneca and Pfizer who say they're still on target.
There's obviously a LOT going on at the moment and a lot of it does seem to be politically motivated, the recent move to stop using the Astrazeneca in some countries is also odd, the WHO, The EU, the NHS etc etc etc say it's safe and their reasoning is odd as there are FEWER cases of Blood clots amongst people who've had it the average.
Personally, I think we're all being fed BS by the truckload.
It's the unpleasant face of vaccine nationalism/power games, on both sides.
Politicians around the world, none more so than ours, have failed their populations enormously with their laziness, self-interest, failure to act in time and utter incompetence.
They are all now looking to the vaccine as their 'get out of jail' card from electorates who have had enough of all the above.
is it any wonder they're all busy hurling shit at each other?
I don't believe a bloody word any of them are saying
Re: the stockpiles of AZ vaccines that are not being used by EU countries. Were they made in the UK or the EU?
I agree with @binners - it's all political games to divert away from the shit show they helped create, look squirrels!!
Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave!
I've clearly lost track of all these Covid three word slogans.
But it eventually turned out that the EU had ordered AZ one day before the UK. (edit to add: reveled by an American news organisation)
but did UK gov not hand over £millions in advance for the work to happen, whilst EU said i might pay you later if you behave?
th ewhole brexit thing is a shambles as is Uk gov media manipulation, however the EU are also being total bell ends.
But it eventually turned out that the EU had ordered AZ one day before the UK. (edit to add: reveled by an American news organisation)
But no link....
No EU statement...
If it's true I'll be very surprised
The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine was a UK led initiative
The only stopped shipment is to Australia from Italy
EU seem to be asking for shipments of vaccines that they have stopped giving and are successfully undermining any pro vaccination strategy
The vaccine issue will keep going, I've had my first jab and expect to have the second and a winter booster tackling any mark 1 vaccine resistant strains.
It's political shenanigans on both sides.
The UK had one one the largest death and infection rates so surely it makes sense to get the population vaccinated to reduce number of deaths as quickly as possible.
I would hope any country that had a high death rate would get preference on the vaccines.
Hopefully common sense will prevail.
The EMA is due to report today with updated safety guidelines for AZ. Then other countries will start if it’s cleared.
Link as requested, big 'n' daft, not the original source but CNN will have to do:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/17/europe/uk-astrazeneca-vaccine-contract-details-intl/index.html
Same contract wording, EU signed earlier.
I’m reading of the EU seizing medication made in European countries destined for the UK.
They haven't, yet. They're talking about it. Wish they'd grow a pair and get on and do it, that's what we're paying them for. And it's not like the UK press is going to be any more negative about the EU.
If it’s true I’ll be very surprised
THe EU signed agreement is dated 1 day before the UK one that was published, but anyone reading the UK one will see that this agreement is subsequent to an initial agreement which was made three months earlier with the developers. The party with whom the EU contracted is also different to the UK one so there is no question of their supplier supplying anyone else first.
The only vaccines going to the UK from the EU at present are from Pfizer who seem to be meeting their contractual obligations to both the EU and the UK now so it is difficult to see how the EU can reasonably take action against them. As the UK supplies key raw materials to Pfizer, there is also a risk of tit for tat reprisals, but i can't see this happening.
As far as I can tell, the most recent headlines about “massive reduction in supply” a mere few days after a headlines about “a massive increase in supply” have been caused by delay from a lab/factory in India, although earlier blame was being laid at the feet of the EU.
I haven't seen anything blaming the EU for the reduction in supply. I even doubt there is a reduction. The issue is that the second jabs are coming due and they need to ring fence them. There may be issues in India which is slowing down the growth in supply.
The only vaccines going to the UK from the EU at present are from Pfizer who seem to be meeting their contractual obligations to both the EU and the UK now so it is difficult to see how the EU can reasonably take action against them.
Apparently they can using some kind of "exceptional circumstances" legal get-out. Whether that's "reasonable" or worth risking the political fall out with other countries is another matter.
Neither the UK Govt or the EU are coming out of this looking well.
If I lived in Morroco or India and was watching this I'd be shaking my fist at the TV
I’ve clearly lost track of all these Covid three word slogans.
That's because it's from 2000AD. Nemesis the warlock specifically.
at what point do we find out that we've not been getting vaccine all along; Robert Jenrick contracted supply out to his mates who run a rat catchers on the south coast, they've been supplying us with a mix of crushed up worming tablets, warfarin and bleach, and all this is placebo effect because the virus isn't that serious anyway, and can be turned down by Bill Gates using a 5G signal.
Prince Philip's been controlling it all from his command centre, disguised as a hospital room.
Makes you think......
Thought I recognised it.
Look at it from an EU perspective, for some reason the UK has managed to vaccinate six times the proportion of the population that the EU has and it’s not because the UK ordered first because it didn’t.
I understood, (granted from UK media, BBC mainly) that the reason the EU had failed to vaccinate a large proportion of it's population was due to huge suspicion of the effectiveness, and now risk involved in having the AstraZeneca jab. AstraZeneca being the product that's in greatest supply, but people don't want it. EU have FAILED to vaccinate rather than the UK MANAGED to vaccinate. The fear that there would be a large proportion of Anti-vaxxers in the UK doesn't seem to have come to pass.
FWIW, I'm NO fan of the Tories, their general handing of pandemic issues or Brexit, but on this point alone the EU do seem to be in violation of Rule One.
No, just my usual source the Daily Mail.
Can anyone else tell if this was a joke or not?
Neither the UK Govt or the EU are coming out of this looking well.
+1
The EU are behaving in a very British manner!
Even the FT has been pretty critical of their posturing over the AZ vaccine. Refusing to use it on over 65s (for no good reason), then changing their mind etc.
They've been cutting off their noses to spite their faces in a very British manner.
German chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet meetings tend to be sedate affairs, however one gathering in early February was anything but. Olaf Scholz, finance minister, launched an extraordinary broadside against the European Commission, saying its vaccination strategy had been a “total shit-show”.
https://www.ft.com/content/39d31c19-5a3d-4352-9bff-630f7c80e5fa
https://www.ft.com/content/767fdd85-5329-479d-b565-4ec85d28b492
https://www.ft.com/content/6bd192b4-6f7a-4df1-a484-1853bb054ba5
The EU is not going to come out of this looking at all good...
Says the oh so British FT, get a grip !
It's also about liability... the UK gov has taken it all on, to ensure early roll out (quite rightly in my opinion), where as EU countries are not. It's the gamble worth taking for a quicker rollout... with the bonus that we could get our doses from Belgium before there was a call on that supply from within the EU. We've prioritised early rollout, the EU has prioritised risk and cost... perhaps because of a more vaccine sceptical public and supporting poorer countries with very different healthcare systems to ours.
The EU is not going to come out of this looking at all good…
No-one is going to come out of this looking good! We may have well done a better job on the vaccine procurement and roll-out but when you look at our response as a whole we've right royally ****ed up an awful lot. If we had only performed averagely before the vaccine was a reality we'd be in a much, much better position than most countries.
The biggest issue now though is that the whole world should really be working as one, moving along at an agreed level to really get a grip on the whole situation. The reality though is that we're scoring political points against our nearest neighbours (and them the same), countries that some of us want to go on holiday to in the next few months! If we screw them over on co-operation now and for the next few years then there will be repercussions for the future. That could be just restrictions on where you can holiday and what you can do when there (plus quarantine issues on your return) or it could be as a detriment to us a country politically and economically for decades, on top of whatever damage Brexit does.
We should be looking at our current situation and realising that the one bit of our Covid response that has worked is the one single bit that looked at the long-term picture and planned accordingly. Everything else has been knee-jerk responses and a disaster.
I stopped reading / listening to the news, my life got a lot better.
Yep, me too. Can't remember the last time I bought a paper, purposely turned the news on, watched Newsnight or Question Time. I've also stopped revisiting forum threads that are just the same people arguing with each other, stopped responding to Facebook nonsense and turn Twitter off if I'm getting dragged in. I feel much better, much happier and less cross.
As for the vaccine, after how we have behaved for the last 5 years I expect the EU to do us no favours what so ever (+ don't blame them) and I expect anything the current government says to be a lie.
The biggest issue now though is that the whole world should really be working as one, moving along at an agreed level to really get a grip on the whole situation. The reality though is that we’re scoring political points against our nearest neighbours (and them the same), countries that some of us want to go on holiday to in the next few months! If we screw them over on co-operation now and for the next few years then there will be repercussions for the future. That could be just restrictions on where you can holiday and what you can do when there (plus quarantine issues on your return) or it could be as a detriment to us a country politically and economically for decades, on top of whatever damage Brexit does.
To be honest allowing foreign holidays to destinations without a high level of vaccination would be bonkers.
As for the vaccine, after how we have behaved for the last 5 years I expect the EU to do us no favours what so ever (+ don’t blame them) and I expect anything the current government says to be a lie.
The EU look after the EU, that's the point of it. They won't be doing anyone any favours. However lots of EU countries depend on British tourism and so are already announcing travel relaxation.
At this point in time a EU commission that is fighting for it's political life is as believable as our collection of jokers
No-one is going to come out of this looking good!
No, but I think it’ll only be the EU that cares. Politically also more of a problem for the EU as the now disadvantaged U.K. has so far, with vaccines, been able to act faster and more decisively which is something the EU isn’t relatively good at.
And @mefty is correct, the U.K. commitment pre dates the EU by months.
Says the oh so British FT, get a grip !
Feel free to point out any factual inaccuracies in their reporting.....
Thanks, felt I was a goner there. So can we have veal again now?
The EU look after the EU, that’s the point of it. They won’t be doing anyone any favours. However lots of EU countries depend on British tourism and so are already announcing travel relaxation.
Yes, on tourism we'll see individual countries making it easy for Brits to visit.
On anything requiring EU rubber stamping eg equivalence rulings etc I expect to see zero progress, although mainly because our negotiator appears to have carte blanche to be as antagonising as he likes (and he obviously likes antagonising them a lot).
.
The biggest issue now though is that the whole world should really be working as one, moving along at an agreed level to really get a grip on the whole situation.
Never going to happen!
Every country will prioritise it's citizens over those of other countries. No leader is going to say, we could vaccinate you all in 3 months, but we're going to share our vaccine supply with the 3rd world and so you'll be vaccinated over the next 3 years.
So it seems that India is hanging on to four million of 'our' AZ doses to prioritise its own citizens. We should send a gunboat and sort them out, rule Britanniaaa and all that.
The perils of outsourcing to lower-paid economies, maybe...
So it seems that India is hanging on to four million of ‘our’ AZ doses to prioritise its own citizens
Globalisation was great when all we were importing was plastic tat!
So it seems that India is hanging on to four million of ‘our’ AZ doses to prioritise its own citizens. We should send a gunboat and sort them out, rule Britanniaaa and all that.
The perils of outsourcing to lower-paid economies, maybe…
This is hardly surprising considering this lefty forum seemed pretty against giving vaccines to the developing world at the expense of our own citizens. India is very nationalistic.
The Brits get what they deserve for deserve for generations of voting Tory and not taking any notice when shit like our plasma products supplier got sold off to China.
I follow someone on Twitter through cycling that is an antivax type. I continue to follow her to get an insight into what the conspiracy theorists are currently saying about stuff.
It would seem that the real (!) reason for this reduction in supply is one of:
1) It's a cover-up for safety concerns (let's just 'slow it down' for a bit until we know better)
2) There's not a shortage - the illusion of scarcity will drive uptake of the vaccine amongst fence sitters.
3) It's an excuse to extend totalitarian lockdown measures.
Just like to say that I DON'T subscribe to any of the above opinions, but it's interesting to see how way-out some people are!