The 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 red

The 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).