I am a pharmacist and I have followed this closely. AZ can make profits after July. They apparently did this for good PR. Unlike what people think vaccines usua

I am a pharmacist and I have followed this closely. AZ can make profits after July. They apparently did this for good PR. Unlike what people think vaccines usually do not bring much profits, so it was not a big sacrifice. The vaccine was designed by Oxford and it was intended to be the UK national pride and it seems they are succeeding. Maybe even too much because it is now making the EU jealous. The UK took other risks – even with the Pfizer vaccine they used all supplies to give as first doses to more people. That was a risk but they calculated that it is better to have more people with partial immunity than less people with stronger immunity. The EU mostly put aside the second dose to give strictly according to the schedule. Their regulators approved vaccines several weeks, even one month before the EU. Again they were criticized for this as being reckless. We cannot even say that their risk has paid off yet because they are in lockdown just like the EU. It is unfortunate that AZ cannot deliver enough vaccines now but many EU politicians and health regulators (France, Germany) have expressed doubts about AZ vaccine indication for elderly. So, maybe they are not that eager to receive all these supplies after all. Charitable explanation would be that they do this to calm people's anger about missed deliveries.