EU has triggered article 16 over controls on vaccine exports

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Breaking news on sky
news.sky.com/story/covid-19-eu-introduces-controls-on-vaccine-exports-to-northern-ireland-12202656

@CuriousaboutSamphire

They offered that last week, when they were first aware of an issue, then revised that to 9 million and UdvL said that was an acceptable "Step Forward". But it was all very quiet, no details, no apologies or explanations!

I was wondering about this too! I doubt we've been given the full story and it has all gone very quiet on that aspect. We in the UK definitely need the Pfizer - both as 2nd doses and possibly also in view of of SA variant (not yet clear if AZ sufficiently effective to combat) ...so I wonder if a quiet deal was done whereby AZ "find" extra doses for EU, with Boris' blessing, in return for promise not to exercise export controls.

It was heavily clipped by the BBC, I didn't hear any of the context at all!

I think that was a bit naughty of them. So many people must be thinking WTF?

I suspect it will be a case of all sorts of additional small measures.

AZ have been clear that they have different manufacturing streams for customers so...

a) the EU supplying factories were kept working for a little longer to make more, pushed a last batch;
b) BJ agreed to diverting some that hadn't been shipped here; the ones that would have caused more ruckus
c) AZ pushed through a last batch that would have been kept for quality control; just in case; wasn't quite ready on day 1 to be sent; or some such
d) any other dark corner you can think of was emptied

We have no idea how many doses come off in one production run, do we? This could be somethng that sounds like a lot but which is in fact just the tail end of a norma amount.

However it happened, somehow BJ and The Goviot managed to make themselves look and sound good. Which tells you how poor UvdL sounded!

Hopefully this will be the last of it. Everyone now has had the shock of having supply withdrawn at very short notice; AZ contracts seems to be well written; all other producers kept quiet so they are in precisely the same boat (which we knew but know we KNOW!!); we can just get on with getting on...

@Waspnest

It was heavily clipped by the BBC, I didn't hear any of the context at all!

I think that was a bit naughty of them. So many people must be thinking WTF?

Someone on another thread posted the same thing as I did, I have explained, as you did to me! So yes, I suspect it will cause a few raised eyebrows!

By the way the naughty bit was about the BBC not you!

S'OK! I chose to understand that was what you meant

I wonder also if the increased doses per vial are a factor?

I am aware that Pfizer's contract is in doses per vials, and that they have therefore announced that they will be billing the EU for 6 doses per vial as the EU have licenced it as such. A similar dodge to toblerones getting smaller whilst staying the same price?

www.euroweeklynews.com/2021/01/23/pfizer-to-charge-for-extra-covid-19-vaccine-doses-doctors-squeeze-out-of-vials/

The EU contract also refers to doses and not vials. I wonder if part of it is no increase in actual vaccine-stuff, but a relabelling of vials to increase the nominal number of doses in them?

Sorry, that was totally full of typos which removed any sense.

Try:
I am aware that Pfizer's contract is in doses NOT vials
The AZ contract also refers to doses and not vials

If that is at least in part what's happened, it allows a mutual saving of face without having to magic up any extra vaccine-stuff.

Ooh! Could be!

I shall add that to the list of probables

It does amaze me, incidentally, given how much grief that AZ has received, that the EU haven't said so much as a word about pfizer production being down, and them bumping the price per vial. Especially when the EU is reporting a shortage of the low-volume needles needed to extract that sixth dose.

From the letter about additional doses per vial "there may be sufficient vaccine remaining for additional doses. Please
note that the wording refers to an additional dose and not numbers of doses since there are two manufacturers for this vaccine, one contains at least 10 full doses and the other at least 8 full doses"
Of course they aren't dealing in the actual vials, but crashing enough to prevent wastage. Uplift 31m from 8 to 10 doses per vial is 38,750,000.
So that's almost the 8m additional. Say there's a "bit extra" again in the buckets when they say... "Quick, weigh it... Awesome, we found an extra 650 litres, at 0.5ml per vial that's over 40m doses. Boom, that's half your order."

*making, not crashing

40m doses = 20m ml = 20,000 litres
31m doses = 15.5m ml = 15,500 litres

I can well imagine they usually allow lots of excess for spillage, extra in vial etc. It does look like an awful lot of extra litres though.

@Motorina

It does amaze me, incidentally, given how much grief that AZ has received, that the EU haven't said so much as a word about pfizer production being down, and them bumping the price per vial. Especially when the EU is reporting a shortage of the low-volume needles needed to extract that sixth dose.

Yes, that's an absolute mystery

Unsurprising that article 16 triggered additional tensions. Looks like the plan is to use it to remove all border controls on food and agriculture. Do we expect Boris to need to send our friends some vaccines to sew up the deal, or only if it's all UK/EU borders? www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55913907

Interesting podcast on the Guardian. The UK spent 1.7 billion on vaccines, the EU 1.8 billion, he also without Brexit we would’ve found it very difficult to go it alone.

www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/feb/03/how-eu-vaccine-effort-turned-into-a-crisis-podcast

@Baileysforchristmas

The below article is also tells the story. I've posted it before so you may have read it.

www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/29/we-had-to-go-it-alone-how-the-uk-got-ahead-in-the-covid-vaccine-race

[quote Baileysforchristmas]Interesting podcast on the Guardian. The UK spent 1.7 billion on vaccines, the EU 1.8 billion, he also without Brexit we would’ve found it very difficult to go it alone.

www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/feb/03/how-eu-vaccine-effort-turned-into-a-crisis-podcast[/quote]
That's the same amount of money from us... a small island supposedly... as 27 other countries combined, the might of the EU!

That part keeps getting sort of airbrushed, as though The EU is one nation, and all nations are the same size.

We are either a small and relatively unimportant nation or we are a major player in the vaccination development. The input we have had into that should not be being bedgrudged, surely?!

[quote MRex]Unsurprising that article 16 triggered additional tensions. Looks like the plan is to use it to remove all border controls on food and agriculture. Do we expect Boris to need to send our friends some vaccines to sew up the deal, or only if it's all UK/EU borders? www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55913907[/quote]
Just listening to the news on my way home... border personnel threatened, their car registrations taken, their families threatened?

What the hell? That makes the whole thing even worse! The timing, I mean!

Threats and even actual attacks are not that uncommon within NI for shops etc. "Call outs by army bomb experts in Northern Ireland highest in three years - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk" amp.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/call-outs-by-army-bomb-experts-in-northern-ireland-highest-in-three-years-39926178.html.
That's why it's always described as being a sensitive border. A fact the EC pretended they understood, and clearly didn't.

@MRex

Threats and even actual attacks are not that uncommon within NI for shops etc. "Call outs by army bomb experts in Northern Ireland highest in three years - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk" amp.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/call-outs-by-army-bomb-experts-in-northern-ireland-highest-in-three-years-39926178.html. That's why it's always described as being a sensitive border. A fact the EC pretended they understood, and clearly didn't.

Or they did and just wanted to cause problems for the UK. Ireland being collateral damage.

(Says cynical me)

@MRex my ire was for the EU, again. Knowing that the border changes were now... they, and all the signatories, including ROI, who signed what they had not read!!!

The rise in 'hositilites' isn't exactly a secret - which is bloody terrifying for all involved.

You must to understand that one transfer of money is one thing but years of grants and programmes is another.

Well quite, that's the point we made to you already @deragod. EC didn't invest enough up-front, nor in a timely enough manner to prevent delays