Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[peteblue]

No, you pre-register on a state government website, and then they contact you based on some age/health criteria (or job situation). Just a few weeks ago, we all thought it seemed like until May or June until the vaccines would roll out for us, but then a few of us received text messages to get the first dose (of two) in this past week.

Excellent, I can appreciate slightly different results around the USA because of its size, but the numbers you are doing as a country are really good to see....unlike the absolute shambles taking place not far from the U.K.....

 

[Neiler]

That research grant of £59M came out of our EU annual payment of over £12Billion...it was our money to begin with....

And don’t think the EU isnt grateful to our UK partners! lol

 

[Chris O'Connor]

If the contracts were ‘similar’ the EU would have taken AZ to court, and you know that. But they didn’t did they, because they know that the contracts may be ‘similar’ but they are not the same.

The EU and some European countries are seriously embarrassing themselves at the moment and yet you still try to defend the indefensible.......

There have always been logistical considerations for Astra Zeneca too. They're manufacturing the vaccine to help the world fight the pandemic and planned speediest manufacture, transport and utilisation routes.

Obviously the way to get jabs into arms is to deliver and fulfil orders nearest to their relevant production facilities, two in the UK and two in Belgium.

The EU at first found out about problems at the Belgian production sites and accused them of keeping stocks for British orders and not fulfilling European ones. An accusation completely spurious and unfounded. They ordered a search of the facility taking extraordinary measures all to no avail, thoroughly embarrassed they switched their guns to the UK.

The whole of the EU's strategy has been plagued by centralisation big management by technocrats with little experience and idealistic notions The whole idea of procuring enough to make sure every country had enough has entail acute micromanagement and metres of red tape, the speed brake was applied right at the planning and design stage.

Von der Leyen has been found hopelessly inadequate and has simply not been up to the job. She's recently been flaying around shooting in all directions and missing all the targets in a desperate attempt to extricate herself from the chaos she's created.

Meanwhile Von see Legen's senior lieutenants, the imbecilic flag waving populist Professor Macron and Angela Merkel are under immense pressure from their own electorates to do something to speed it all up. Unfortunately they can now both see the huge crater they've helped dig by attacking an apparent good guy, a major vaccine producer helping fighting the pandemic. However their answer seems to be if you've dug a big hole it's too late to change tactics so plan A better work, and so just continued to dig even deeper launching new fresh attacks on the vaccine producers and making everything even worse

Politicising the fight against Covid in the midst of a world pandemic seems to be the EU's number one tactic as it closes its borders to fulfilling its contracts to supply vaccines to Australia and Paua New Guinea.

What a menace to the world and a friend to Covid the EU are.

 

[peteblue]

And don’t think the EU isnt grateful to our UK partners! lol

*shakes fist......

 

[Tipp blue]

His follow up tweet predicted the shortfall.

I wish people would stop saying Jabs.

 

[Tubey]

I wish theys stop saying Jabs.

Me too. Makes me think of John Prescott.

 

[Neiler]

There have always been logistical considerations for Astra Zeneca too. They're manufacturing the vaccine to help the world fight the pandemic and planned speediest manufacture, transport and utilisation routes.

Obviously the way to get jabs into arms is to deliver and fulfil orders nearest to their relevant production facilities, two in the UK and two in Belgium.

The EU at first found out about problems at the Belgian production sites and accused them of keeping stocks for British orders and not fulfilling European ones. An accusation completely spurious and unfounded. They ordered a search of the facility taking extraordinary measures all to no avail, thoroughly embarrassed they switched their guns to the UK.

The whole of the EU's strategy has been plagued by centralisation big management by technocrats with little experience and idealistic notions The whole idea of procuring enough to make sure every country had enough has entail acute micromanagement and metres of red tape, the speed brake was applied right at the planning and design stage.

Von der Leyen has been found hopelessly inadequate and has simply not been up to the job. She's recently been flaying around shooting in all directions and missing all the targets in a desperate attempt to extricate herself from the chaos she's created.

Meanwhile Von see Legen's senior lieutenants, the imbecilic flag waving populist Professor Macron and Angela Merkel are under immense pressure from their own electorates to do something to speed it all up. Unfortunately they can now both see the huge crater they've helped dig by attacking an apparent good guy, a major vaccine producer helping fighting the pandemic. However their answer seems to be f you've dug a big hole it's too late to change tactics plan A better work and so continued to dig deeper launching fresh attacks on vaccine producers and making everything even worse

Politicising a fight against s pandemic seems to be the EU's number one tactic as it closes its borders to fulfilling its contracts to supply vaccines to Australia and Paua New Guinea.

What a menace to the world and a friend to Covid the EU are.

“An EU spokesman said that some vaccines produced by AstraZeneca in its European factories have been shipped elsewhere, including the UK. “The customs data do not lie,” an EU official said. “We can see vaccines were sent to many countries.” In December, the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce told reporters that the country’s initial supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine was being manufactured in the Netherlands and Germany.”

 

[Mutzo Nutzo]

Had my first vaccine shot yesterday. It was the AZ vaccine.

Feel rough as an old dog at the moment, knackered and I keep falling asleep. No blood clots yet though

 

[peteblue]

Had my first vaccine shot yesterday. It was the AZ vaccine.

Feel rough as an old dog at the moment, knackered and I keep falling asleep.

Same as always then.....

 

[Chris O'Connor]

“An EU spokesman said that some vaccines produced by AstraZeneca in its European factories have been shipped elsewhere, including the UK. “The customs data do not lie,” an EU official said. “We can see vaccines were sent to many countries.” In December, the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce told reporters that the country’s initial supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine was being manufactured in the Netherlands and Germany.”

Trying to justify such base stupidity and crass irresponsibility is ludicrous, this isn't a trade war as much as they like to think it is, it's unfortunately far more serious.

There is no place for fresh vaccine barriers or worrying about face-saving remedies to repair some of the irrevocable damage to Von der Leyen's reputation over the more important battle of fighting Covid.

Demonstrating the EU's protectionist heart and trade sanction might isn't more important than beating Covid, beating the virus is what counts even if the EU is putting up artificial unnecessary barriers to hinder the world's efforts.

 

[Barnfred 55]

I’d be very open minded on figures or evidence to the contrary mate, I just haven’t seen them sourced. If there are shortfalls in Pfizer for the UK, then I think the UK have the same rights as the EU have to query that and take measures like the EU with exports of AZ to the Eu. As I said the issue as o understand it is the two UK plants are named in the EU contract as two of four, like in the UK contract, no vaccines have come to these these sites, but have provided wholly to the UK. Wig the EU was to reciprocate that premise, then seems clear the supply to the UK would be hit.

The issue as I see it is the UK, happy to have a domestic supply, happy to import vaccine and unhappy to export domestic supply, cake and eat it. The EU obviously feel they have a contractual right, the UK, AZ obviously feel we don’t and here we are brinkmanship, toward possible escalation to political and customs measures. To EU has articles at its disposal in EU law to block and comendrr anything produced in the block at a time or critical international safety, in fact if you are aware of these thing UVL language was quite pointed today to that particular article.

I’d be very open minded on evidence that would move from my analysis, it’s not a nasty little dynamic to my current thinking that is only showing signs of deteriorating to the determined of all.

Have you seen evidence that UK has received full supplies to date? Like I said, what evidence is there that AZ in Holland/Belgium have been supplying UK.? Based on figures one has to assume that those export figures to the UK must have been taken up by the Pfizer jabs.

The contract between AZ and EU is between them surely. Why are you bringing the UK government into it. It's not a question of having our cake and eating it FFS.

AZ clearly has a problem meeting demand, not just in the EU but here too. It's expected that EU will have 40m AZ jabs by the end of March. We'll maybe reach 20m by that stage. When we gave AZ £65m funding last May it was expected that 30m of the 100m order would be ready by the end of 2020 but it clearly wasn't.

As I said, I believe both of us have supply issues. Only one of us is chucking our dummy out and making threats though. If they, or should I say you, follow through with them, then I think the relationship between the UK and the EU will take a turn for the worse that will take years to recover from. Stopping the export of the Pfizer vaccine will risk the lives of millions of elderly and at risk Britons who will be deprived of their second jab. I really hope that UVL is just muscle flexing.

 

[peteblue]

I wish people would stop saying Jabs.

Sorry mate....I’ll try to remember.....

 

[SussexToffee]

If Ursula Van Leylen blocks export of BioNtech to the U.K., we will simply ramp up our production line of the AZ.

I knew someone would “unsure” this after a scaremongering letter Laura-Twisted Mouth-Doomsberg was so quick to whip out at the briefing.

She’s nothing nothing but a cold calculating despicable excuse of a human being.

 

[Neiler]

Trying to justify such base stupidity and crass irresponsibility is ludicrous, this isn't a trade war as much as they like to think it is, it's unfortunately far more serious.

There is no place for fresh vaccine barriers or worrying about face-saving remedies to repair some of the irrevocable damage to Von Der Leyen's reputation over fighting Covid.

Demonstrating the EU's protectionist heart and trade sanction might isn't more important than beating Covid, beating the virus is what counts even if the EU putting up artificial unnecessary barriers to hinder the world's efforts.

Yikes, that’s a strong opinion mate, it’s an opinion though.

From an EU perspective, you can flip that narrative from the EU to the UK and UVL to Boris on the same issue. Likely that’s the crux of the disagreement.

It’s a wonder we get anything done!

 

[Neiler]

Have you seen evidence that UK has received full supplies to date? Like I said, what evidence is there that AZ in Holland/Belgium have been supplying UK.? Based on figures one has to assume that those export figures to the UK must have been taken up by the Pfizer jabs.

The contract between AZ and EU is between them surely. Why are you bringing the UK government into it. It's not a question of having our cake and eating it FFS.

AZ clearly has a problem meeting demand, not just in the EU but here too. It's expected that EU will have 40m AZ jabs by the end of March. We'll maybe reach 20m by that stage. When we gave AZ £65m funding last May it was expected that 30m of the 100m order would be ready by the end of 2020 but it clearly wasn't.

As I said, I believe both of us have supply issues. Only one of us is chucking our dummy out and making threats though. If they, or should I say you, follow through with them, then I think the relationship between the UK and the EU will take a turn for the worse that will take years to recover from. Stopping the export of the Pfizer vaccine will risk the lives of millions of elderly and at risk Britons who will be deprived of their second jab. I really hope that UVL is just muscle flexing.

I haven’t received evidence mate, but I didn’t say it, so I don’t feel the burden of proof lies with me, you suggested it, is there a source or evidence. The UK definitely is within in rights to protect its rights if a shortfall is there in my opinion.

I posted a bit above mate from the EU sending AZ doses to the UK in terms of custom data and the UK task force acknowledged AZ was coming to the UK from Belgium and Germany.

I think you are right, the problem is AZ I think they signed duplicates contracts with the EU and UK, as the two key stake holders both of course are protecting what they feel are their contractual rights.

I’d accept AZ have been poor partners for the EU and as you say. sounds like for the UK, I think the beef at the moment is distribution and share of shortfall amongst regions, and how that relates to equity of exports and cortractrral obligations, obviously the three key stake holders have a different opinion. But I would suggest the balance of exports to imports in and of the EU - won’t be the status quo going forward, that was evident today. I’d be surprised if the UK would accept that balance either, if it was reversed.

The relationship mate, I think has been massively damaged any way, the FTA has been ratified by the EU, the EU are suing the UK for breach of international law, the vaccine disagreement is just sour. To be honest I think a good relationship between the UK and EU is gonezos.

Hopefully a way will be found forward and today was just a bit of sabre rattling, though the atmosphere today was very un EU like and menacing.