Why should the UK vaccine supply be diverted to Europe?

[lovelemoncurd]

They ordered 3 months later than the UK. They have themselves less time to sort glitches. They have been slow to the table and now they wish to punish to UK for being efficient.

I was a remain voter. I'm starting to change my mind!

Boris getting ONE thing right essentially by lucky chance/ default over the past 12 months doesn't make Brexit a good thing.

I’m not so sure. After all, this is a matter of life or death.

And not only that, the way the EU is dealing with the situation is contemptible. Why would you want to be associated with such an organisation?

That's a great suggestion! But no doubt the EU would then start blustering about why Ireland can't keep them if Germany and France aren't benefitting too, etc. etc!

This.

@Bluethrough

If we hadn’t ordered enough - so much criticism

Correct, but once we have enough vaccine for the 9 at risk groups (i would prefer the top 5) we should help more vulnerable groups in other countries.

Ordered in time and good quantities of working vaccines - still they go on

Ordered 350m vaccines, still wanting more and more.

I happen to know an elderly couple in europe, the idea that we would hoard vaccine whilst they go without is wrong, the dehumanisation of europes vulnerable is quite sickening as is the vulnerable in Malawi (we recently had a Malawian living in UK die of CV)

The EU have messed up massively and had bad luck but i wonder what we would all be bleating if the Sanofi vaccine had worked and the OxF one hadn't?

I strongly suspect that suddenly we would all be europeans together!

We hedged our bets and placed various orders before regulatory approval was given, rather than putting all eggs in one basket.

We aren’t stockpiling anything - the vaccines are being used as soon as they become available.

Once the vaccine programme has finished, the UK is likely to be ensuring that additional stock is made available elsewhere.

If we were sitting on 100m doses in a warehouse somewhere, then that would be slightly different. But we’re not.

@Baileysforchristmas

But why go so public and not just sort it out with AZ? It ‘s terrible way of doing things and will just hold everyone up on the vaccine, it solves nothing.

Because the EU hope they might get something extra from somewhere. They are trying to manage 27 governments who are all going nuts at them so they have to look like they are taking it seriously.

They can't go 'we fucked up' sorry we will just have to wait patiently.

Spain has run out of vaccine. Portugal just had a massive spike in cases. The Netherlands has riots. Hungary is off hanging out with the Russians and sticking two fingers up at Brussels. Germany is saying they shouldn't share what they have with the rest of Europe.

Its a bit of a mess there too.

But i seriously doubt it will magic any more AZ vaccine because there just isnt any to magic up.

AZ agree that the uk factories are in the EU contact but Soriot explained

I meant that the EU officials were contradicting themselves. They are saying; There is no hierarchy of the factories - but we ordered three months earlier in any case.

@PowerslidePanda

Would it be sensible to suggest we would ‘return’ the 4m AZ doses from Europe, by sending 4m of the UK manufactured doses to Ireland?

That's a great suggestion! But no doubt the EU would then start blustering about why Ireland can't keep them if Germany and France aren't benefitting too, etc. etc!

Willing to bet the uk will offer in time... But only after the uk is well on top of things and Ireland is still struggling.

This isn't the first time though that EU clunky bureaucracy has put lives at risk, there was huge out cry after the Bataclan attacks when it was discovered that the very guns used in the attacks had been flagged up as a red hot concern years before and the information sat on the desks somewhere in the EU building an never acted on!

And don't forget this last year;

6 March 2020 -
France has forced a face mask manufacturer to cancel a major UK order as the coronavirus-inspired scramble for protective gear intensifies.

The National Health Service ordered millions of masks from Valmy SAS near Lyon earlier this year as COVID-19 threatened.

"The requisition does not allow any wiggle room for us to deliver to the NHS, but it is complicated because the NHS was the first client to order and uses our masks all year long."

www.euronews.com/2020/03/06/coronavirus-french-protective-mask-manufacturer-scraps-nhs-order-to-keep-masks-in-france

we would hoard vaccine whilst they go without is wrong,

are we hoarding?

The EU - are trying to manage 27 governments who are all going nuts at them so they have to look like they are taking it seriously

Exactly - but after all they wanted their superstate project, and it's hardly the UK's fault if their incompetence is making it difficult to manage

And in principle they could say "we loused up so now we'll just have to wait", but of course I realise that would be politically impossible

Additionally, in our defence I'd add that our death toll is so appalling, second only to the US, it's in everyone's interests for us to have an accelerated vaccine programme with no diversion of supply.

Yep

@marbellamarc

we would hoard vaccine whilst they go without is wrong,

are we hoarding?

Exactly - and they just seem t9 keep ignoring this point!

I’d like to us is provide Ireland with vaccines as soon as we are able but it’s going to be massively controversial is it not?

1. It would surely add fuel to the fire where the EU are concerned as it would look like we were interfering in something that wasn’t our business (even though we have a CTA)

2. I don’t think there would be a cat in hells chance that Ireland will be allowed to receive it and deliver it just to their citizens and they’d find themselves stuck in the middle of another U.K./EU ruckus.

I don’t think we are hoarding (I’d be hugely disappointed if we were) I was under the impression we were getting it in arms more or less as soon as it was coming in.

are we hoarding? 
Exactly - and they just seem t9 keep ignoring this point!

It's a very unhelpful narrative as it will fuel dissent.

@HeyHeyImABeLeaver

I’d like to us is provide Ireland with vaccines as soon as we are able but it’s going to be massively controversial is it not?

1. It would surely add fuel to the fire where the EU are concerned as it would look like we were interfering in something that wasn’t our business (even though we have a CTA)

2. I don’t think there would be a cat in hells chance that Ireland will be allowed to receive it and deliver it just to their citizens and they’d find themselves stuck in the middle of another U.K./EU ruckus.

I don’t think we are hoarding (I’d be hugely disappointed if we were) I was under the impression we were getting it in arms more or less as soon as it was coming in.

If the UK offer publicly it makes it VERY difficult for Ireland to turn down the offer if they have a high case rate or death rate or tight restrictions still.

I don't think it is possible for us to make such an offer until we are improving and out of lockdown. So back end of April is likely to be the earliest we could even consider it.

@Dongdingdong

Boris getting ONE thing right essentially by lucky chance/ default over the past 12 months doesn't make Brexit a good thing.

I’m not so sure. After all, this is a matter of life or death.

And not only that, the way the EU is dealing with the situation is contemptible. Why would you want to be associated with such an organisation?

I didn't vote Brexit but thank fuck we left.

A lot of people on here owe the Brexit voters a huge apology and gratitude right now.

[quote Baileysforchristmas]@PinkSparklyPussyCat what persuaded me was the CEO would quite happily give it to his 92 year old mother, he said it’s a very good vaccine.[/quote]
Exactly. My Uncle (85) and his partner (92) have both had it with no side effects.

@Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady

It shouldn't

The EU can fuck off

Exactly!

The Daily Mail is now running a story that Nicola Sturgeon is going to divulge details of our vaccines stocks to the EU from next week.

😳 if true, what on earth is she thinking? what is to be gained from that except maybe she thinks it may strengthen her position on the only thing that really matters to her.

I think that may back fire hugely.

WTAF is going on with some people at the top, they seem to be losing their marbles.

I hope that’s not true. She’s a loose cannon if so that could damage relations and have real impact on lives

It’s back to the Auld Alliance - no doubt we’ll have a pretender or two sailing over for the continent soon and raising an army of rebellious rabble...

I was a remain voter. I'm starting to change my mind!

About what? That we should leave the EU after all?

from the continent, that should be.

I didn't vote Brexit but thank fuck we left.
We could have approved the vaccine and made our own agreements within the EU