Astrazeneca/Oxford vaccine approved

[Kneerly Down]

2. EU regulations permit member states to issue temporary approval in an emergency.

The MHRA acted in line with EU regulations, and any other EU country could have done the same

https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4759

Should have posted this an hour ago, before WR made the similar point:

If, say, Ireland were to issue temporary emergency approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine, would it be able to actually get some?
The EU Joint Procurement of Covid-19 vaccines means that the Ireland isn't allowed to buy vaccines itself and has to wait for the EU to give them their allocation...not that Germany would worry about the rules

I keep seeing my 'nat' friends saying that the UK could have done what it has with the vaccine programme even if we were in the EU.
I wonder why none of the 27 member states decided to do so. Is it because the EU Commission was going to spend €2.4bn of EU [sic] funds anyway or that an increasingly vindictive Commission wouldn't look kindly on a lack of unity?

I noticed that in November the EU Commission proposed making all joint procurements exclusive, like the vaccine.
https://www.insideeulifesciences.com/20 ... agreement/

I haven't heard how successful the joint procurements of PPE and ventilators, that Boris' crowd took so much flak for not joining, got on. I did look; presumably that means 'not very well' as anything the EU does half-competently normally gets a whole lot of publicity, especially if the UK gov't shuns it?

[irie]

Very interesting interview with Pascal Soriot, boss of Astrazeneca. He explains the production process, supply chains, contractual commitments, and debunks the EU's claims of foul play and breach of contract, allegations of low efficacy, and so on.

https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2021/ ... 284349628/

You said that the UK signed the AZ vaccine contract three months before EU, so you had more time to tweak and fix the potential disruptions of the supply. Why then did you commit to similar contracts with the EU, if you knew that in a very short time there could be problems like the one the EU supply chain is experiencing right now?

"sa big issue, this pandemic. But our contract is not a contractual commitment. It's a best effort. Basically we said we're going to try our best, but we can't guarantee we're going to succeed. In fact, getting there, we are a little bit delayed".

The EU fiddled while Rome burned and is now 3 months behind the UK.

Is there any chance that the contracts could be reconsidered in the sense that you may distribute the vaccines in some other way? For instance, would it be possible to take some of the vaccines destined for UK and move them to the EU or some other countries? Or is this such a fixed contract that you cannot change it?

"The UK agreement was reached in June, three months before the European one. As you could imagine, the UK government said the supply coming out of the UK supply chain would go to the UK first. Basically, that's how it is."

Given the fact that a lot of countries have high hopes on the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine but now there are supply problems, does it makes sense for EU countries to give a second thought to one-dose strategy that the UK is using?

“I think the UK one-dose strategy is absolutely the right way to go, at least for our vaccine."

... and much more

[Wreckless Rat]

Well I have had a good google and the only things I have found is the EU budget assigned would have only bought less than 10,000 ventilation units, and that’s assuming a mass discount. Which is far less than the media hype of the uk missing out on 50,000 units by not being in the joint procurement scheme.

Interestingly as you say, there seems to be zero information about the success of the program. Makes me too think it failed miserably.

[irie]

Well I have had a good google and the only things I have found is the EU budget assigned would have only bought less than 10,000 ventilation units, and that’s assuming a mass discount. Which is far less than the media hype of the uk missing out on 50,000 units by not being in the joint procurement scheme.

Interestingly as you say, there seems to be zero information about the success of the program. Makes me too think it failed miserably.

Joint procurement in EU terms means sitting on your backside waiting for the laggards to say yeah or nay. All very well perhaps over 50 years ago, but in today's fast moving world a potential recipe for disaster. I fear that the delay in procuring vaccine supplies will turn into an avoidable death sentence for many EU citizens.

Edit: insert

[Wreckless Rat]

Well I have had a good google and the only things I have found is the EU budget assigned would have only bought less than 10,000 ventilation units, and that’s assuming a mass discount. Which is far less than the media hype of the uk missing out on 50,000 units by not being in the joint procurement scheme.

Interestingly as you say, there seems to be zero information about the success of the program. Makes me too think it failed miserably.

Joint procurement in EU terms means sitting on your backside waiting for the laggards to say yeah or nay. All very well perhaps 50 years ago, but in today's fast moving world a potential recipe for disaster. I fear that the delay in procuring vaccine supplies will turn into an avoidable death sentence for many EU citizens.

Which time will tell, but it makes you wonder, if the vaccine works, the UK may not end up top of the EU death stats.....

I wonder if the BBC will then bang on and on and on and on

[weeksy]

Which time will tell, but it makes you wonder, if the vaccine works, the UK may not end up top of the EU death stats.....

I wonder if the BBC will then bang on and on and on and on

i think that may be very unlikely.

[Wreckless Rat]

Which time will tell, but it makes you wonder, if the vaccine works, the UK may not end up top of the EU death stats.....

I wonder if the BBC will then bang on and on and on and on

i think that may be very unlikely.

Which bit? The UK may not end up at the top or the BBC will keep quite if not...

[weeksy]

Which time will tell, but it makes you wonder, if the vaccine works, the UK may not end up top of the EU death stats.....

I wonder if the BBC will then bang on and on and on and on

i think that may be very unlikely.

Which bit? The UK may not end up at the top or the BBC will keep quite if not...

The bit about us ending up topping the list. Too many idiots not doing what they should imo.

[Wreckless Rat]

i think that may be very unlikely.

Which bit? The UK may not end up at the top or the BBC will keep quite if not...

The bit about us ending up topping the list. Too many idiots not doing what they should imo.

Very possibly yes - but we are not alone in that respect. 60% ish of UK population say they will have the vaccine when offered. Over 60% of France say they wont. If the vaccine works, we will soon start to see the decline of our deaths, with COVID mainly killing older and at risk groups, who we are focussing on.

Italy is only 14,000 behind us... and they are struggling to get the vaccine (along with the rest of the EU) owing to the EU's superior group buying system.

[weeksy]

Which bit? The UK may not end up at the top or the BBC will keep quite if not...

The bit about us ending up topping the list. Too many idiots not doing what they should imo.

Very possibly yes - but we are not alone in that respect. 60% ish of UK population say they will have the vaccine when offered. Over 60% of France say they wont. If the vaccine works, we will soon start to see the decline of our deaths, with COVID mainly killing older and at risk groups, who we are focussing on.

Italy is only 14,000 behind us... and they are struggling to get the vaccine (along with the rest of the EU) owing to the EU's superior group buying system.

Fair call, maybe fella, maybe.

Sadly it's a game no one wants to win at

[Wreckless Rat]

The bit about us ending up topping the list. Too many idiots not doing what they should imo.

Very possibly yes - but we are not alone in that respect. 60% ish of UK population say they will have the vaccine when offered. Over 60% of France say they wont. If the vaccine works, we will soon start to see the decline of our deaths, with COVID mainly killing older and at risk groups, who we are focussing on.

Italy is only 14,000 behind us... and they are struggling to get the vaccine (along with the rest of the EU) owing to the EU's superior group buying system.

Fair call, maybe fella, maybe.

Sadly it's a game no one wants to win at

Indeed, which is why, imho, we are seeing such massive differences in death rates. It's not because France or Italy or Spain are better or worse, it's mainly in what is reported as a CV death, mixed with things like the health of the population. We know covid picks on fatties more than the healthy for example. The UK is one of the fattest Euro nations - I struggle to see how that is the governments fault. Whether they are left, right or centre.

Apparently, I see on the news, it is the UK governments fault that a large % people in Blackpool are unfit, smoke, drink, eat shit diets and don't exercise and thus are dying more from COVID. People are largely the problem.....

[irie]

This is Die Zeit (English version), probably the most respected German newspaper, getting stuck into the EU's vaccination fiasco and AstraZeneca cock-up.

https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/202 ... britannien

The best advertisement for Brexit

In the dispute over the delivery delay of the AstraZeneca vaccine , the EU Commission is currently making the best advertisement for Brexit: It is acting slowly, bureaucratically and protectionist. And if something goes wrong, it's everyone else's fault.

This is how many Britons see the EU and so the prejudices were confirmed at the beginning of the week. "Now I understand Brexit better," said an AstraZeneca employee on television ...

[DEADPOOL]

Apparently, France, Germany, Italy etc. all ordered vaccines about the same time as we did in the UK. The EU were all "Oh no you don't. We'll negotiate a better deal". The giant wheels of bureaucracy grind into motion and three months later, unsurprisingly they're three months late.

Same deal but presumably with some cream skimmed off the top...

[Asian Boss]

It's almost as if the elderly have Brexited away the very medication that would have saved them.

[Wreckless Rat]

It's almost as if the elderly have Brexited away the very medication that would have saved them.

Apart from that is the wrong way around. Brexit meant they are getting the jab, while the EU elderly are... urrrm... not.

[Wreckless Rat]

It's almost as if the elderly have Brexited away the very medication that would have saved them.

The TE in the EU must be so thankful Brexit meant they got their vaccines first....

Oh... err..

[Asian Boss]

An effective roll out (largely delivered by the NHS) got the vaccine in place in the UK.

Now leaving the EU threatens its supply to the UK.




Health Secretary Matt Hancock has claimed Brexit allowed the UK to approve a Covid vaccine more quickly than other European Union (EU) countries.

"We do all the same safety checks and the same processes, but we have been able to speed up how they're done because of Brexit," he said in an interview with Times Radio.

And the Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, tweeted: "We could only approve this vaccine so quickly because we have left the EU."

That was not the case however...

The UK's own medicines regulator, the MHRA, confirmed this in a statement last month.

And its chief executive, Dr June Raine, said that "we have been able to authorise the supply of this vaccine using provisions under European law, which exist until 1 January".

"Our speed or our progress has been totally dependent on the availability of data in our rolling review, and the rigorous assessment and independent advice we have received," Dr Raine said.

But again, the MHRA didn't have to rely on Brexit to do that.




So people believed the lies but they were indeed lies.

[Wreckless Rat]

An effective roll out (largely delivered by the NHS) got the vaccine in place in the UK.

Now leaving the EU threatens its supply to the UK.

Again wrong. The AZ vaccine is being made in Wales and they have committed to 2m doses per week. Likely more than we can get into people.

It must suck, being wrong so much.

As for you edit... try reading back. You can read can't you?

NOT BEING PART OF THE EU VACCINE PROGRAM ALLOWED THE UK TO ORDER 3 MONTHS BEFORE THE EU.

[Asian Boss]

An effective roll out (largely delivered by the NHS) got the vaccine in place in the UK.

Now leaving the EU threatens its supply to the UK.

Again wrong. The AZ vaccine is being made in Wales and they have committed to 2m doses per week. Likely more than we can get into people.

It must suck, being wrong so much.

It must suck being that ANGRY! And wrong!

[Wreckless Rat]

An effective roll out (largely delivered by the NHS) got the vaccine in place in the UK.

Now leaving the EU threatens its supply to the UK.

Again wrong. The AZ vaccine is being made in Wales and they have committed to 2m doses per week. Likely more than we can get into people.

It must suck, being wrong so much.

It must suck being that ANGRY! And wrong!

You do appear to be very angry and WRONG.