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The EU exported over 200 million doses. If the EU wanted, they could've issued an export ban like the US did. People tend to forget that 3* (with Curevac soon t

by foepys 5y ago

The EU exported over 200 million doses. If the EU wanted, they could've issued an export ban like the US did. People tend to forget that 3* (with Curevac soon to be 4) of the most effective vaccines are actually from the EU. * not counting Sputnik V as study results currently seem not very reliable, although that might only be because Russia isn't particularly interested in the EU market

TMWNN 5y ago
>The EU exported over 200 million doses. If the EU wanted, they could've issued an export ban like the US did. Please stop repeating this lie. There is and has never been a US vaccine export ban, and the US has not seized vaccines meant for other countries. The Trump administration last year signed gigantic contracts for every planned vaccine (Operation Warp Speed), because no one knew which ones would work. Like, enough for every American from one manufacturer, let alone the current four major available ones. More importantly, the contracts guaranteed the US the earliest deliveries. The UK signed a similar contract for the AstraZeneca vaccine. The EU and Canada did not assure themselves of such quantities; as RcouF1uZ4gsC said, the former wasted time by trying to get a better price. Canada also bet on CanSino, a Chinese vaccine, because it was afraid that the US would ban vaccine exports (which, again, never happened). Of course, the Chinese did not live up to the contract. Before you say "But what about—", the Trump executive order from December 2020 merely sets up the legal framework to prohibit exports if desired. But that does not mean that the framework is invoked. Let me repeat: The US signed contracts that were a) huge in size/scope and b) from every pharmaceutical company working on a vaccine, which c) got the country the largest and among the first deliveries. The UK did the same thing with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and spent a lot of money to retool domestic plants to produce it. If the situation were different, might the US have implemented a ban on exports, similar to what the EU did implement recently? Perhaps. But, fortunately, the US never faced this issue, because of the huge amounts of money it invested a year ago and the contracts it signed with said money.
- foepys 5y ago
  Then how do you explain this? https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/curevac-says-mass-vaccine-rollout-thrown-into-doubt-by-us-restrictions-2021-05-04/ https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/... It doesn't matter if exports are restricted because of "America first" or because of an outright ban. The result is exactly the same. The UK is also arguing that they don't restrict exports but when asked how many doses were exported, they cite national security concerns and refuse to answer. Whatever that means.
  - Rapzid 5y ago
    How many US manufactured doses have been exported?
  - TMWNN 5y ago
    >It doesn't matter if export are restricted because of "America first" or because of an outright ban. The result is exactly the same. Being the first to buy something, and being in a position to buy all of the supply (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-24/biden-uses-trump-s-america-first-vaccine-plan-to-corner-market?sref=gzDhqlP8 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-24/biden-use... ), is not the same thing as enacting a law to prevent other countries from buying some. Admittedly to the other countries the outcome is the same, but there is a difference. Further, I specifically said vaccines. The US did invoke the Defense Production Act for certain medical equipment, to make sure its contracts are fulfilled first. But, let me quote from https://www.ft.com/content/82fa8fb4-a867-4005-b6c2-a79969139119 https://www.ft.com/content/82fa8fb4-a867-4005-b6c2-a79969139... , "The DPA does not allow the administration to block exports overseas". The US's contracts would be fulfilled first regardless (albeit more slowly) without the DPA, because (as I said) the US was the first and paid the most. The US's Pfizer contract explicitly prohibited the company from exporting US-produced vaccine doses until March 31, but the company only began to export US-produced doses at the end of April because it still had to fulfill said US contract first. https://www.barrons.com/articles/pfizer-to-export-u-s-made-vaccine-doses-report-says-51619785111 https://www.barrons.com/articles/pfizer-to-export-u-s-made-v...

by foepys 5y ago

TMWNN 5y ago

>The EU exported over 200 million doses. If the EU wanted, they could've issued an export ban like the US did. Please stop repeating this lie. There is and has never been a US vaccine export ban, and the US has not seized vaccines meant for other countries. The Trump administration last year signed gigantic contracts for every planned vaccine (Operation Warp Speed), because no one knew which ones would work. Like, enough for every American from one manufacturer, let alone the current four major available ones. More importantly, the contracts guaranteed the US the earliest deliveries. The UK signed a similar contract for the AstraZeneca vaccine. The EU and Canada did not assure themselves of such quantities; as RcouF1uZ4gsC said, the former wasted time by trying to get a better price. Canada also bet on CanSino, a Chinese vaccine, because it was afraid that the US would ban vaccine exports (which, again, never happened). Of course, the Chinese did not live up to the contract. Before you say "But what about—", the Trump executive order from December 2020 merely sets up the legal framework to prohibit exports if desired. But that does not mean that the framework is invoked. Let me repeat: The US signed contracts that were a) huge in size/scope and b) from every pharmaceutical company working on a vaccine, which c) got the country the largest and among the first deliveries. The UK did the same thing with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and spent a lot of money to retool domestic plants to produce it. If the situation were different, might the US have implemented a ban on exports, similar to what the EU did implement recently? Perhaps. But, fortunately, the US never faced this issue, because of the huge amounts of money it invested a year ago and the contracts it signed with said money.

foepys 5y ago
Then how do you explain this? https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/curevac-says-mass-vaccine-rollout-thrown-into-doubt-by-us-restrictions-2021-05-04/ https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/... It doesn't matter if exports are restricted because of "America first" or because of an outright ban. The result is exactly the same. The UK is also arguing that they don't restrict exports but when asked how many doses were exported, they cite national security concerns and refuse to answer. Whatever that means.
- Rapzid 5y ago
  How many US manufactured doses have been exported?
- TMWNN 5y ago
  >It doesn't matter if export are restricted because of "America first" or because of an outright ban. The result is exactly the same. Being the first to buy something, and being in a position to buy all of the supply (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-24/biden-uses-trump-s-america-first-vaccine-plan-to-corner-market?sref=gzDhqlP8 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-24/biden-use... ), is not the same thing as enacting a law to prevent other countries from buying some. Admittedly to the other countries the outcome is the same, but there is a difference. Further, I specifically said vaccines. The US did invoke the Defense Production Act for certain medical equipment, to make sure its contracts are fulfilled first. But, let me quote from https://www.ft.com/content/82fa8fb4-a867-4005-b6c2-a79969139119 https://www.ft.com/content/82fa8fb4-a867-4005-b6c2-a79969139... , "The DPA does not allow the administration to block exports overseas". The US's contracts would be fulfilled first regardless (albeit more slowly) without the DPA, because (as I said) the US was the first and paid the most. The US's Pfizer contract explicitly prohibited the company from exporting US-produced vaccine doses until March 31, but the company only began to export US-produced doses at the end of April because it still had to fulfill said US contract first. https://www.barrons.com/articles/pfizer-to-export-u-s-made-vaccine-doses-report-says-51619785111 https://www.barrons.com/articles/pfizer-to-export-u-s-made-v...