3 ms·

> negotiating the majority of the vaccine access so soon after leaving The UK government tries to make it seem as if the Brexit allowed them to do that but act

> negotiating the majority of the vaccine access so soon after leaving The UK government tries to make it seem as if the Brexit allowed them to do that but actually all that happened while they were still member of the EU.

mft_ 6y ago
It wasn’t directly related to Brexit; as you say, any of the EU member states could have done their own thing and not entered the EU’s vaccine purchasing scheme. But the UK Government’s Brexit mentality would have certainly played into their decision: imagine them entering the EU’s scheme so soon after Brexit - it would have been unconscionable. (And interesting that none of the other major EU countries did go it alone - gotta keep it together.) Anyway, the real issue here (over which there’s plenty of CYA-ing and blame being thrown at AZ) is the EU did a poor, slow job of a) negotiating vaccine supplies (not just with AZ - but mostly ignoring or deprioritising options from other manufacturers such as Biontech/Pfizer) and b) getting the vaccines approved quickly through the EMA. As an aside, the EU countries also seem to be doing a fairly poor job of operationalising the vaccination of their citizens. Anecdotally, a friend’s frail father is in a far worse risk group than my mother, yet will be finally vaccinated months later thanks to living in Germany, vs. the UK.
- _Microft 6y ago
  The EU seems to be a bit too good-natured for their own good. They assumed that everyone would play nicely and got double-crossed by the UK and US. I bet they learned a thing and at least regarding AstraZeneca's production inside the EU, they seemed to have taken off the gloves. > Anecdotally, a friend’s frail father is in a far worse risk group than my mother, yet will be finally vaccinated months later thanks to living in Germany It's possible to be vaccinated earlier if they are at risk for a severe case of Covid. They might want to consult with their doctor and would need some medical documents to backup the claim. Knowing that it is actually possible might help, so maybe tell them?
  - beaconstudios 6y ago
    to be honest it's less about the EU being good-natured and more about them being bureaucratic. They didn't move fast enough to secure the contract and then distribute the vaccine quickly. That's 100% on them, but now that they're embarrassed they're trying to make the vaccine look like it was a bad thing anyway. That, and threatening to use protectionism to deny AZ the right to fulfil its contracts. It's very petulant, in the same way if you deny something to a child they could throw a strop and say "well I didn't want it anyway".
  - mft_ 6y ago
    > It's possible to be vaccinated earlier if they are at risk for a severe case of Covid. They might want to consult with their doctor and would need some medical documents to backup the claim. Knowing that it is actually possible might help, so maybe tell them? Thanks, but they (and supportive relatives) are 100% on it. It’s the speed of the roll-out in Germany that’s the issue.
    - _Microft 6y ago
      Different federal states have already made use of 75% (Mecklenburg) to 95% (Thuringia) of the doses delivered to them, with most states being in the range of 83-87%. A part of the remaining doses is reserved for second shots and the remaining unused doses really must be because of inefficiences of some sort. Claiming that the speed of roll-out is slow when most federal states have already used more than 6 out of 7 doses that were delivered to them so far is surprising. https://impfdashboard.de https://impfdashboard.de
      - mft_ 6y ago
        Fair point: I'm wasn't seeking to differentiate between vaccine supply and operational efficiency. Ultimately, the end user has little insight into where the issue lies - but thanks for the dashboard link that clarifies this. So let's be more specific: the slow roll-out of vaccination in Germany seems to be related to failures in vaccine procurement and supply at a national and/or EU level. And this is why frail elderly people are still waiting... when less at-risk people in the UK have already been vaccinated.

mft_ 6y ago

It wasn’t directly related to Brexit; as you say, any of the EU member states could have done their own thing and not entered the EU’s vaccine purchasing scheme. But the UK Government’s Brexit mentality would have certainly played into their decision: imagine them entering the EU’s scheme so soon after Brexit - it would have been unconscionable. (And interesting that none of the other major EU countries did go it alone - gotta keep it together.) Anyway, the real issue here (over which there’s plenty of CYA-ing and blame being thrown at AZ) is the EU did a poor, slow job of a) negotiating vaccine supplies (not just with AZ - but mostly ignoring or deprioritising options from other manufacturers such as Biontech/Pfizer) and b) getting the vaccines approved quickly through the EMA. As an aside, the EU countries also seem to be doing a fairly poor job of operationalising the vaccination of their citizens. Anecdotally, a friend’s frail father is in a far worse risk group than my mother, yet will be finally vaccinated months later thanks to living in Germany, vs. the UK.

_Microft 6y ago
The EU seems to be a bit too good-natured for their own good. They assumed that everyone would play nicely and got double-crossed by the UK and US. I bet they learned a thing and at least regarding AstraZeneca's production inside the EU, they seemed to have taken off the gloves. > Anecdotally, a friend’s frail father is in a far worse risk group than my mother, yet will be finally vaccinated months later thanks to living in Germany It's possible to be vaccinated earlier if they are at risk for a severe case of Covid. They might want to consult with their doctor and would need some medical documents to backup the claim. Knowing that it is actually possible might help, so maybe tell them?
- beaconstudios 6y ago
  to be honest it's less about the EU being good-natured and more about them being bureaucratic. They didn't move fast enough to secure the contract and then distribute the vaccine quickly. That's 100% on them, but now that they're embarrassed they're trying to make the vaccine look like it was a bad thing anyway. That, and threatening to use protectionism to deny AZ the right to fulfil its contracts. It's very petulant, in the same way if you deny something to a child they could throw a strop and say "well I didn't want it anyway".
- mft_ 6y ago
  > It's possible to be vaccinated earlier if they are at risk for a severe case of Covid. They might want to consult with their doctor and would need some medical documents to backup the claim. Knowing that it is actually possible might help, so maybe tell them? Thanks, but they (and supportive relatives) are 100% on it. It’s the speed of the roll-out in Germany that’s the issue.
  - _Microft 6y ago
    Different federal states have already made use of 75% (Mecklenburg) to 95% (Thuringia) of the doses delivered to them, with most states being in the range of 83-87%. A part of the remaining doses is reserved for second shots and the remaining unused doses really must be because of inefficiences of some sort. Claiming that the speed of roll-out is slow when most federal states have already used more than 6 out of 7 doses that were delivered to them so far is surprising. https://impfdashboard.de https://impfdashboard.de
    - mft_ 6y ago
      Fair point: I'm wasn't seeking to differentiate between vaccine supply and operational efficiency. Ultimately, the end user has little insight into where the issue lies - but thanks for the dashboard link that clarifies this. So let's be more specific: the slow roll-out of vaccination in Germany seems to be related to failures in vaccine procurement and supply at a national and/or EU level. And this is why frail elderly people are still waiting... when less at-risk people in the UK have already been vaccinated.