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> they've weathered the recent crises worse than the EU has. Is Covid not a recent crisis? The UK response to Covid, specifically to sourcing vaccines and vac

> they've weathered the recent crises worse than the EU has. Is Covid not a recent crisis? The UK response to Covid, specifically to sourcing vaccines and vaccinating the vulnerable and elderly population, appeared to be significantly more nimble and efficient than that of the EU. Judging by the investigation launched into the EU's vaccine procurement[0] more transparent, too. The UK also dropped restrictions in early 2022 after high vaccination rates and the arrival of Omicron appeared to break the link between infections and hospitalisations. [0] https://www.politico.eu/article/ursula-von-der-leyen-pfizer-eu-prosecutors-office-opens-investigation-into-covid-vaccine-purchases/ https://www.politico.eu/article/ursula-von-der-leyen-pfizer-...

makomk 4y ago
A lot of people seem to still believe that the UK has the worst Covid death toll in Europe, even though that isn't remotely true, because ever since Brexit the only comparisons with the rest of Europe that most of the British media make are the ones which make the UK look worse. (I think it may have briefly been true near the start of the pandemic, but all the numbers coming out of Italy were such hot garbage that means extremely little.)
tuatoru 4y ago
Economically, the UK's GDP has not yet reached its 2019 level. The major EU countries have long since surpassed theirs.
- logifail 4y ago
  I'm not sure it's wise to believe the headline claims about UK GDP (or lack of it), particularly if those stories mention Brexit. There's more to it, and there's an awful lot of Brexit-related bias in play. "For 2021 as a whole, UK GDP growth was 7.5%. This was the highest in the G7. The UK had the largest decline in GDP among the G7 in 2020 (-11.0%) and its relatively strong performance in 2021 was to some degree a recovery from weakness in 2020. Please note that headline GDP growth figures across countries are not 100% comparable. For example, the UK takes a different approach to others in calculating output in the education and health sectors. This has resulted in the UK’s GDP growth figures being lower in 2020, and higher in 2021 (as this effect unwound), compared with other G7 economies than they otherwise would have been." https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02784/ https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02...

makomk 4y ago

A lot of people seem to still believe that the UK has the worst Covid death toll in Europe, even though that isn't remotely true, because ever since Brexit the only comparisons with the rest of Europe that most of the British media make are the ones which make the UK look worse. (I think it may have briefly been true near the start of the pandemic, but all the numbers coming out of Italy were such hot garbage that means extremely little.)

tuatoru 4y ago

Economically, the UK's GDP has not yet reached its 2019 level. The major EU countries have long since surpassed theirs.

logifail 4y ago
I'm not sure it's wise to believe the headline claims about UK GDP (or lack of it), particularly if those stories mention Brexit. There's more to it, and there's an awful lot of Brexit-related bias in play. "For 2021 as a whole, UK GDP growth was 7.5%. This was the highest in the G7. The UK had the largest decline in GDP among the G7 in 2020 (-11.0%) and its relatively strong performance in 2021 was to some degree a recovery from weakness in 2020. Please note that headline GDP growth figures across countries are not 100% comparable. For example, the UK takes a different approach to others in calculating output in the education and health sectors. This has resulted in the UK’s GDP growth figures being lower in 2020, and higher in 2021 (as this effect unwound), compared with other G7 economies than they otherwise would have been." https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02784/ https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02...