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The U.S.' vaccine rollout is world-beating
- kjakm 6y agoAmerican exceptionalism at its worst. “World beating”, “One of the top countries (apart from the ones ahead of it)”. The US is doing well, very well, but it’s certainly not world beating by any metric.
- binarymax 6y agoPandemic "world-beating" lingo was actually first used in the UK, when Johnson was espousing the new track and trace program. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=world-beating https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=world-beating
- bb123 6y agoI don’t think the grandparent comment is taking exception to the phrase so much as the fact that it is verifiably false (and is even directly contradicted in the article body!).
- kjakm 6y agoExactly.
- user-the-name 6y agoI don't think you'll find anyone arguing that the UK is any kind of shining example here.
- the-dude 6y agoSome would say America is doing Great again.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- cableshaft 6y agoSeems like a disingenuous title, as its own data shows it's fifth in terms of rollout (third for 2 doses). Yes it's distributed the most as far as pure numbers, but that's only because of how large the country is compared to Israel, and therefore can dedicate more resources and manpower (and needs to) for its distribution. If anything the title should be 'Israel's vaccine rollout is world-beating'. U.S. is doing pretty well compared to most other countries though, for sure. Also the U.S. needs to be good at this because it's been so terrible at managing it otherwise. Countries like Australia and New Zealand and some countries in Asia can be more careful with vaccination approval because it's done such an excellent job of handling the virus, so well that it actually has to balance the side effects of the vaccine versus not getting vaccinated. The US has to go "Well, at least the vaccine is better than the very good chance you're going to get Covid-19", which is basically what the emergency approval means.
- yokaze 6y ago> For Europe, one big obstacle was that the EU decided to bargain for vaccines as a group, which made the process of securing shots very cumbersome. As a result, the region got cheaper vaccine prices but delayed delivery. The EU regulatory state has also reportedly gotten in the way of rapid approval. I think, the emphasis is wrong there on bargaining as a group. The US bargained also "as a group", if you will.The EU prioritised (in my eyes wrongly) pricing over speedy delivery and was risk averse: The US purchased most of the doses a whole half year before approval, the EU only bargained for options on vaccines pending approval. There is a 10 day delay between the emergency approval of the FDA and the full approval of the EMA. But we do not see a 10 day delay in the vaccinations. A delay of a ramp-up on the other hand by half-a-year looks more like what we see. Also, the US does not allow exports of the vaccines produced in the US. To my knowledge, no such restrictions are in place in the EU.
- bitcurious 6y ago> Also, the US does not allow exports of the vaccines produced in the US. Can you cite this?
- yokaze 6y agoI don't remember where I read it originally. Google gives me: https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/15/under-an-america-first-president-will-the-u-s-corner-the-market-on-covid-19-vaccine/ https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/15/under-an-america-first-p... https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-digest-trump-orders-priority-vaccine-access-for-us/a-55859711 https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-digest-trump-orders-priori...
- makomk 6y agoAs far as I know it's not actually true. There was some speculation that the US might ban vaccine exports, and apparently this was why the UK wanted at least one locally-produced vaccine, but I'm pretty sure only the EU actually went ahead and did it. In fact, there were some suggestions that the UK might actually have to switch its source for the Pfizer vaccine to the US as a result.
- everyone 6y ago"the American system still retains a bit of the magic we were once taught to expect" Serious question for users from US: What "magic" are ye taught to expect? And where / when are ye taught to expect it?
- Miner49er 6y agoAmerican schools heavily teach American exceptionalism, at least in my experience. Basically that our values make us special and better then everyone else. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism
- everyone 6y agoSeriously!?!? omg lol!! .... Hmm, actually after a tiny bit of rumination on that new information, that actually could explain a lot.
- Miner49er 6y agoDon't most countries teach that their kids they are good country? It's basically just patriotism.
- the-dude 6y agoWell, Zhe Germans, not so much.
- jstanley 6y agoNo, most countries don't teach patriotism in schools.
- coldtea 6y ago>Don't most countries teach that their kids they are good country? Not such level BS. The teach the country's history, they try to portray most wars/disputes etc. from the perspective of the country (though most also allow for balance), and so on. Few, if any, countries tells students that they're some unique exception upon the world, or have some burdern to lead the others. Colonial Britain and WWII-era Germany comes to mind.
- dr_faustus 6y agoAlmost as world beating as the death toll.
- bb123 6y agoThey describe the rollout as world beating in the headline but simultaneously acknowledge there are a number of countries ahead of the US in several aspects of it. It really isn't a competition but this is just nationalistic nonsense.
- SpicyLemonZest 6y agoIt’s a counterpoint to a narrative that is (was?) widespread among American commentators, that the US rollout is uncommonly terrible because the country can’t work together.
- ethbr0 6y agoAlmost like the US is some sort of federation of states.
- ac29 6y ago4 countries are ahead of the US in shots per capita, 190 are behind. Only one of the 4 ahead has a population over 10M.
- deusexml 6y ago> One reason Canada has fallen far behind its neighbor to the south is that it ordered lots of doses from European factories that have struggled to meet production quotas. Canada were forced to work with Europe as Americans won't export any vaccines. I know dozens of 20-30 year olds vaccinated in America, while the largest hospitals in Canada haven't vaccinated even a fraction of their staff. Luckily for America, Canadians are too busy blaming each other for it to really damage the international relationship.
- timbit42 6y agoMostly blaming past Prime Ministers Brian Mulroney (Progressive Conservative) and Stephen Harper (Conservative) for destroying their capacity to produce vaccines.
- kcartlidge 6y agoThe one thing that isn't being mentioned here is the cost of the vaccine. The Astra Zeneca one may well be less effective (though it still should massively reduce hospitalisations and deaths), but the US/DE ones offer virtually no hope to most of the world given their dosage costs (£28 Moderna, £15 Pfizer). The AZ one goes for £3. So yes, the US/DE vaccines may be world-beating (perhaps). At a mimimum of 5 times the cost, though, they're not exactly world-saving - which is what is really needed. Disclosure: I'm British, but this isn't jingoism as I fully accept the UK has largely screwed up almost everything in its pandemic response. For the vaccine rollout though we've managed to get our own production capacity and a fast delivery based, despite the article, on the schedule AZ actually recommend (12 week gap, as longer gaps are being shown to give better protection, within limits).