Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[Bruce Wayne]

And you know that wasn’t my point....I assume they would have been getting the AZ one then if that’s the case, but I’m sure I read that they might be going with the Russian one or is that not happening....

There have also been manufacturing issues with the Pfizer vaccine too, which I'm sure you're well aware of. It's perhaps also worth noting that my local trust has stopped providing the AZ vaccine too due to supply issues.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I liked his last one , a pro Eu source at the company says “I understand Brexit better now”....

You know when you took umbrage at someone suggesting you relished laying people off Pete...

 

[peteblue]

And not a single source named or referenced. The fact that AZ had promised to deliver double the number of vaccines they have actually delivered is the key here. Given they're also charging countries like South Africa twice as much for the vaccine not only as they're charging western countries, but also than they themselves set as a price cap suggests that they're dropping the ball.

Lest we forget, the EU have ordered 400 million doses of the AZ vaccine, with 80 million of those agreed to be supplied in Q1. That this agreement is being broken and AZ will supply just 31 million doses is on the hands of the supplier, not the buyer.

On a ‘Best Effort’ basis.....

 

[Walken]

And not a single source named or referenced. The fact that AZ had promised to deliver double the number of vaccines they have actually delivered is the key here. Given they're also charging countries like South Africa twice as much for the vaccine not only as they're charging western countries, but also than they themselves set as a price cap suggests that they're dropping the ball.

Lest we forget, the EU have ordered 400 million doses of the AZ vaccine, with 80 million of those agreed to be supplied in Q1. That this agreement is being broken and AZ will supply just 31 million doses is on the hands of the supplier, not the buyer.

Oxford was originally going to open source its vaccine, but changed course to sign the exclusivity deal with AZ and of course now in the name of for profit healthcare they can't meet the deals they greedily signed for and still gain the profit to satisfy shareholders.

It is rather odd to blame the nation of Germany or in some cases an entire trading bloc for the irresponisble headlines (that fortunately didn't make a huge ripple) of a tabloid journo, a quick google search for vaccine progress on sunday and my top two hits were for the express and mail to headline vaccine fear mongering stories with no basis at all. The South African point is an important one and we must not ease off on the pressure to vaccinate once our own population has been vaccinated, surely we have learned by now we are all connected and that mutation of this virus will thrive in areas of high reproduction. There are reports that some developing (I hate that forced term) will take until 2024 to vaccinate, this isn't good enough and we need to move away from the short term right wing nimbyist crap.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

If the EMA approves it Germany will look stupid, so I expect the EMA to put in the caveats that Germany tells them to... So let’s see, Germany has a vaccine costing x20 times a British vaccine and is a pain to distribute, and they want to sell it globally, now how can it compete...’I haf ze cunning planz’......

The same minds that brought us car emission utopia.

 

[BlueToff]

I don’t see why it has to be anybody’s fault - in terms of one particular country.

I’m sure it’s been widely known for weeks that the German government are not at all happy with having their hands tied by the EU regulations when it comes to the vaccine, even though I understand that the Uk have taken more risk. If ever there was a time for risk to be taken however, and red tape to be put to one side once the vaccines have been independently checked, it is now.

It is also very easy to back up Peston’s reports. This search took me 10 seconds

https://www.euractiv.com/section/co...eep-covid-19-vaccine-manufacturing-in-europe/ - deal signed in June

EU agreement not until August - https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_1524

For clarity, these are 2 of the top 3 search results

 

[Neiler]

If the EMA approves it Germany will look stupid, so I expect the EMA to put in the caveats that Germany tells them to... So let’s see, Germany has a vaccine costing x20 times a British vaccine and is a pain to distribute, and they want to sell it globally, now how can it compete...’I haf ze cunning planz’......

I wouldn't think so mate, this will be very much a case of show us your work if their are any caveats, but we're speculating, i really hope there aren't concerns and all this is a storm in a tea cup. Be bad for the world if one of vaccines hits the skids.

 

[BlueToff]

I just don’t think anybody should be ‘siding’ during what is a disagreement between a trading block and a big pharma company.

AZ should fulfil its agreement with the EU but the euro commission have cocked up big time it seems

Let’s just hope it gets out quickly enough and that it works like it should do

in the meantime, anticipating some really grim figures for the UK today and over the next few days. With a bit of luck, deaths peaked last week, but unfortunately I can’t see it and expect it to be this week, based off the infection peak of Jan 9th

 

[Neiler]

Pfizer roll out well before Christmas, AZ after the new year. You'd think if the rate of infection is being influenced by the vaccines then it'd be mostly down to Pfizer, given there's a 3 week wait for the vaccines to provide immune response?

Its hard to draw conclusions without the data mate, we dont know what profile of the vaccines have been rolled out in what sub sets. Isn't the AZ vaccine the one the UK have bought the most of.

 

[Tubey]

I just don’t think anybody should be ‘siding’ during what is a disagreement between a trading block and a big pharma company.

AZ should fulfil its agreement with the EU but the euro commission have cocked up big time it seems

Let’s just hope it gets out quickly enough and that it works like it should do

in the meantime, anticipating some really grim figures for the UK today and over the next few days. With a bit of luck, deaths peaked last week, but unfortunately I can’t see it and expect it to be this week, based off the infection peak of Jan 9th

Deaths haven't peaked, not even close.

Infections, however, have.

 

[Billy Dean]

What a mess.

 

[BlueToff]

Deaths haven't peaked, not even close.

Infections, however, have.

I know mate, was extremely wishful thinking on my part.

However, I do think the deaths should - going off the infections trend - be peaking in the UK this week.

Peak infections Jan 9th. We know there's usually a 14-day delay, but Jan 23rd was Saturday. Basically I expect, based on those graphs, that this weekend just gone will have been the worst for deaths and, as such, we'll see massive numbers (probably hitting 2k) over the next 3 days including today, as the reporting lag catches up.

 

[Neiler]

German government giving nothing away. Be interesting.

Germany joins AstraZeneca in rejecting 'completely incorrect' reports on Covid vaccine efficacy in elderly

Two German newspaper reports cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Oxford vaccine among older age groups.

www.thejournal.ie

 

[peteblue]

You know when you took umbrage at someone suggesting you relished laying people off Pete...

I would love to see AZ flood the world with the stuff by tomorrow, and I don’t begrudge anyone or any country getting its hands on the vaccine. However watching the EU make an arse of itself, attempt to bully a supplier doing its best, attempting to stop a vaccine export to the U.K. and then using dark arts in the media, before we even get to the EMA, has proven the case for leaving, and shown up the ‘friends‘ we have in Europe better than I could ever communicate....

 

[davek]

The supply issue is the EU’s main concern and the 8% figure has only been brought up now due to a disagreement with AZ.

An 8% figure which was also fudged by sources and not checked properly by the journalists who published it.

While AZ’s reasons are fair enough, the EU also have the right to be peeved that they aren’t going to get what they thought they’d secured. However, it goes back to the European Commission interfering in a process which it had no need to interfere with. France, Italy and Germany are the most populous nations in Europe along with the UK and desperately need as many vaccine options as possible.

If what Peston is reporting is correct, and unlike those daft reports last night he has gone into detail and presented things which are easily verified (and I’m no fan of him btw, even in the journo alliance), then the whole process has been messed with for no reason by the European Commission.

In short, it appears that these government sources used the 8% figure as a ‘oneupmanship’ on AZ, due to the current disagreement. So in a way, that is the distraction from the issue at hand, but in your eyes - which I’m not blaming you for, I just find it odd as it wasn’t actually a full on story until those reports last night - the distraction is actually the real story here?

I dont care about the daft games over supply issues. I dont even care at this stage that there are media pursuing vaccine nationalism rather than reporting facts.

I care that what goes in the arms of people I know and care about is doing the job we are told they're supposed to do and offer substantial protection after 1 or 2 jabs.

That's it.