WHO urges Britain to pause covid jabs after treating the vulnerable

[Jay2020]

Link

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/30/who-urges-britain-to-pause-covid-jabs-after-treating-vulnerable

I am beyond broken if this means we can't get to any kind of normality.

@IrishMamaMia actually yeah since the vaccine program started I have thought that I probably won't end up getting a vaccine because by the time the most vulnerable are vaccinated things will have improved to the point that I won't need one. I'm really optimistic about the vaccine. So that is pretty much what my opinion is based on. So obviously it seems ludicrous to me that I should get a vaccine if there is someone in far more need than me somewhere else. My opinion might change if something goes wrong and the situation at that point is not at all what I am expecting it to be.

Ideally we would all be vaccinated at the same time.
But pausing here gives the virus just as much chance of mutating here.

Can WHO guarantee a diverted vaccine will go to a more vulnerable person or might it not?

Will it reduce efficiency to divert and so stop/ start programmes here?

Since vaccines are being made worldwide does Dr Harris really mean we should share ours with EU?

Guy on the news tonight suggesting all the pharmaceutical companies with successful vaccines should make them open source so that they can be manufactured all over the world. Lots of government money went into the development of the vaccines so production shouldn’t be ring-fenced by the individual companies.

If I understand correctly, and I may be wrong, one issue with just getting the vulnerable and not getting a wide coverage of vaccination is that, while you can keep more vulnerable people out of hospital, it doesn't mean they can start mixing as normal with unvaccinated, less vulnerable people. Because we still don't know and can't know for a while (IIRC this is a very hard thing to 'model' theoretically) whether it will reduce/prevent infection. And it's certainly problematic if you lower restrictions while the virus is still circulating in high volumes among the population. Basically mixing a small number of vaccinated people with lots of unvaccinated people creates better conditions for vaccine-proof mutations to arise as there's a lot of virus circulating, trying to find ways around the vaccine. Something like that, anyway!

I don't know if it might raise the possibility that at least vaccinated people might be able to have wider 'bubbles', or see slightly more people at a time, even if there can't be large group gatherings.

Covax deliveries appear to be waiting for WHO approval: "COVAX announces new agreement, plans for first deliveries | Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance" www.gavi.org/news/media-room/covax-announces-new-agreement-plans-first-deliveries.
Oh the irony.

We have had a very high death rate in UK and put government used out taxes to invest in vaccines before even knowing they would work. They also payed for and ordered enough vaccine to vaccinate every person in UK and a lot left over. If this vaccine has to be administered every year like the flu jab by the time everyone that wants one has had one we will need to start on round 2 because those who had it in early Jan 2021 will need another dose in Jan 2022. That is why the government is still ordering and buying up vaccines. The first duty of government is to protect its citizens. What we need to do is build more production capacity so we can send some to other countries too. We have already committed a lot of foreign aid to help other countries and if other rich countries did their part then their would be enoug money to buy vaccines for the whole world. China who caused the pandemic should be doing a lot more.

what's the delays with COVAX?

If we stopped UK vaccinations after vaccinating the vulnerable in the UK, and used the resources saved to vaccinate people in other countries in order to stop new variants arising, wouldn't the virus just circulate among the non-vulnerable in the UK which could cause a new variant to arise here?

[quote donewithitalltodayandxmas]@Bluethrough we could help everyone with measles and things like that though.
What if we vaccinate all the vulnerable and are still having large number of cases , we may have another variant here as well.
Also if people are concerned re: variants then should be given to countries with higher cases first and those with low cases wait , surely? Why vaccinate a country with a handful of cases if another has thousands [/quote]
jeez i wish you'd stop @ me, i'm on the thread, reading.... we went through this yesterday! and still you keep doing it.

Surely you see that it will take a year or more to vaccinate everyone in the UK x 2, then there is europe/usa to finish their jabs.
By the time we get round to Africa, CV has mutated to straines more deadly, immune to current vaccinations and here spreading in the UK, killing far more than currently.

then what?

@marbellamarc

what's the delays with COVAX?

No one is giving them vaccine, we want it all !!! which is what majority on here want.

89redballoons that seems logical.

@Jay2020

Where is the line drawn? 65? 60? 70?

It will be 50 ....because that’s what they have already pledged to do .

UK has funded covax.

No one is giving them vaccine, we want it all !!! which is what majority on here want.

The programme isnt about "giving" the vaccine.

@marbellamarc

what's the delays with COVAX?

Nothing significant, I think (or at least hope)

Deals signed for first 200m doses, and still hope to achieve 1billion by end of year

But they will need more money - to pay not just for the jabs, but also transport, cold chains and people to administer them; some of which will already exist in recipient countries, but which may mpneed augmentation

Forget link:

www.who.int/news/item/22-01-2021-covax-announces-new-agreement-plans-for-first-deliveries

@HeddaGarbled

Guy on the news tonight suggesting all the pharmaceutical companies with successful vaccines should make them open source so that they can be manufactured all over the world. Lots of government money went into the development of the vaccines so production shouldn’t be ring-fenced by the individual companies.

I fully agree with this. Plus they should have agreed this months ago, not just now. And they need to get making doses anywhere possible, using all pharmaceutical installations with the equipment. Going down with all guns blazing against the virus, no against each other. And, finally INCLUDE CHILDREN in the vaccination program. We do not want to herd this virus towards our children. The virus will mutate to adapt to the environment, and if adults cannot be infected efficiently, it will go for children, or unvaccinated people in general. We have a short window to win this war against the virus, we have to put it all out on the weapons we have, vaccines!

Morocco have started with AZ from India apparently.

I really don't get all of this hard wringing. The world praised the likes of New Zealand and Australia for closing their borders early and making sure their citizens were safe. But god forbid that the UK should FINALLY look after it's citizens.

*hand

It's good to see so many selfish people on the thread. I imagine everyone that's been breaking the rules during lockdown feels better now, as apparently it's ok to prioritise yourself and your family :)

Everyone wants their life back Glenchase, but yours doesn't matter more than mine.

I don’t think it’s reasonable to hand over our vaccines for “the vulnerable” in other countries, only for those countries to vaccinate celebs, MPs, athletes, the wealthy, etc.

The vaccines would have to get there first

I know it won't happen, but let's suppose that all the "unselfish" gave up theirs so (insert country of choice) could have them ... given we can't exactly bung 'em in an envelope, who'd be in charge of this?

The pharma companies? Doubt they'd be keen to alter existing contracts and take a punt on getting paid elsewhere
Covax / the WHO themselves / the EU? Good luck with that, given current performance
Someone else I've not thought of?

Come to think of it, maybe those envelopes aren't such a bad idea after all ...

I'm just extremely sceptical nowadays about WHO.

@milamalami

It's good to see so many selfish people on the thread. I imagine everyone that's been breaking the rules during lockdown feels better now, as apparently it's ok to prioritise yourself and your family :)

So what’s your take? Cut off at 50

How old are you