Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

EU threatening to cut off supply of vaccines to UK

999 replies

Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady · 17/03/2021 13:24

Because they've not got enough apparently (despite the fact that they've got a shit load of AZ stockpiled because they've mostly stopped using it)

This is really starting to piss me off now, and has someone who is due 2nd Pfizer jab in 8 weeks in starting to worry I won't get it!

They're threatening to stop supply to USA too.

Wankers

www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/ursula-von-der-leyen-threatens-cut-off-covid-exports-uk-b924652.html

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
StormzyinaTCup · 22/03/2021 19:26

@Umbivalent

The plant, run by the subcontractor Halix, has not exported any jabs to the EU as yet as the facility is yet to be given approval by the European Medicines Agency

Unbelievable!! The EMA haven't even approved a Dutch plant yet that we already received vaccines from, two months ago!!

Well, actually, not unbelievable at all...

This is one of the most annoying things about this latest drama. EMA haven't approved the Halix lab (not due until end of March but not guaranteed) so the U.K. are expected to make up for EU shortcomings from our own factory.

How about the EMA get their finger out instead of demanding supplies from another country. It's always another country's U.K.fault. They really are looking ridiculous.

MissConductUS · 22/03/2021 19:32

How about the EMA get their finger out instead of demanding supplies from another country. It's always another country's U.K.fault. They really are looking ridiculous.

I'm sure the U.S. will come under fire when the J&J deliveries are scheduled to start in the second quarter. First, they'll rubbish the vaccine, then demand that J&J stop deliveries to the U.S. so they can have theirs sooner. As I said up thread, it's like punching someone who's trying to pull you out of a fire.

Baileysforchristmas · 22/03/2021 19:33

The good thing is I think a compromise can be made. What is more difficult to fix is the skepticism in Europeans in AZ vaccine which has been caused by the wrong political message.

StormzyinaTCup · 22/03/2021 19:42

I'm sure the U.S. will come under fire when the J&J deliveries are scheduled to start in the second quarter. First, they'll rubbish the vaccine, then demand that J&J stop deliveries to the U.S. so they can have theirs sooner. As I said up thread, it's like punching someone who's trying to pull you out of a fire

I'd hope someone sensible would rein in UVdL before that point, it would take things to a whole new stupidity level if they went down that particular avenue. I'll be watching with interest!

Umbivalent · 22/03/2021 19:45

Lol, as if the EU would stand up to the USA! It's just us they want to dick around.

Baileysforchristmas · 22/03/2021 19:54

It shows the world how unhinged the EU becomes when the UK leaves, maybe we were a stronger influence on the EU than thought. We have ignored all the drama and just got on with vaccinating the nation, hopefully we will keep a cool head on Thursday. The main thing we need to do is vaccinate as many people as possible in the UK and EU. Can you imagine how quick each country would be vaccinated if they vaccinated as many people a week we have managed in the UK.

Motorina · 22/03/2021 19:54

Today's case numbers out of France are hugely sobering. 15,792 cases. Not so bad on the face of it but they (like us) normally have a huge Monday drop. Last Monday's figures were 6471, and they were 5327 the Monday before that.

It's about to hit the spreading like wildfire stage there, I suspect. In that context, the four day delay in Az jabs is likely to cost lives. Desperately sad.

StormzyinaTCup · 22/03/2021 20:00

@Umbivalent

Lol, as if the EU would stand up to the USA! It's just us they want to dick around.
If they don't apply the same to US then that will make it crystal clear that all they are interested in is dicking us about.

Playground behaviour at a time when people's lives/businesses/jobs are on the line.

TheHoneyBadger · 22/03/2021 20:43

Imagine the all powerful euro state needing help from a piddly little nation that was never going to survive on it's own anyway? What's that about.

donewithitalltodayandxmas · 22/03/2021 20:44

@MissConductUS I don't think they will say anything to the US

notimagain · 22/03/2021 22:04

@Motorina

Today's case numbers out of France are hugely sobering. 15,792 cases. Not so bad on the face of it but they (like us) normally have a huge Monday drop. Last Monday's figures were 6471, and they were 5327 the Monday before that.

It's about to hit the spreading like wildfire stage there, I suspect. In that context, the four day delay in Az jabs is likely to cost lives. Desperately sad.

I blinked when I saw that number on the sante publique website earlier but there's something a bit unusual about today's figures,

I say that because whilst the number of positive tests have, as you say, roughly tripled from previous Mondays the "taux de positivitie" - percentage of tests that were positive, has only crept up a fraction, it hasn't doubled or tripled.

...It's just possible (fingers crossed) that the high positive test numbers are a result of perhaps more tests done at the weekend, or the test results from the back end of last week were slow in being declared and have only just fed through into the declared data.

The reason I make the latter point is there was certainly was an IT problem that meant some data (mainly but not exclusively vaccination numbers) didn't make it onto the sante publique website right at the end of last week, so there might be a bit of catching up with numbers going on.

All will be revealed in the next two/three days.... we've already been seeing figures of 35K/day approx, midweek, for last two weeks, so what comes next will be very interesting..

SummerBody1 · 22/03/2021 22:26

*Thirdly - and this is the big one - if the EU wants that they're going about it all wrong. They could try, you know, asking? Showing gratitude? Offering to pay for the doses they've taken? Perhaps, in the same spirit of shared neighbourliness, offering to help with the Northern Ireland border mess?

Instead they've acted like a spoiled toddler at a party, holding all the sweets to their chest and crying, "mine mine mine!". If, instead of saying, "We demand parity!" they said, "We're hurting, can you help?", then I rather suspect the UK response might be different.*

www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/taoiseach-says-uk-wont-be-sharing-extra-vaccines-until-britain-is-vaccinated-first-40176108.html

SummerBody1 · 22/03/2021 22:40

The reason Halix does not have EU authorisation/licence is because it has not submitted the paperwork - in spite of the urging of the EU. EU ready to grant licence urgently, once paperwork is submitted.

donewithitalltodayandxmas · 22/03/2021 22:59

@SummerBody1 can you day where you have seem this ?

donewithitalltodayandxmas · 22/03/2021 23:02

@SummerBody1 yes appears expected soon but maybe they cannot submit paperwork if they have to achieve things first ? Who knows
What this all seems to boils down to is contracts and what has been signed and agreed by who etc

Puzzledandpissedoff · 22/03/2021 23:03

The world is watching. And we need trade deals

We do indeed need them, but I'm not sure it's a terribly good idea to give the impression that we'll roll over whenever an aggressor demands something

Instead of a trading partner, that would risk us being seen as a patsy

Wakeupin2022 · 22/03/2021 23:08

@SummerBody1

The reason Halix does not have EU authorisation/licence is because it has not submitted the paperwork - in spite of the urging of the EU. EU ready to grant licence urgently, once paperwork is submitted.
I suspect that's deliberate on AZ's part. It's part of the UK & EU Supply chain.

The doses sitting there probably made to fulfil the UK contract.

Of course we ain't getting them. But by us not getting them, AZ have breached UK contract. I suspect that's why the UK went to India.

To try and get the doses and ease the tension in Europe. But now we ain't getting the Indian doses, we'll understandably the govt feel they are entitled to the doses in Halix since we paid to set up production there.

It's not really quite as simply as the EU like to make out, but ultimately they have been let down by AZ as well.

I hope they can come to a compromise where we can both share Halix drug substance. This really doesn't help anyone.

Perhaps once 2nd doses done, we can supply some from UK too even if we are not 100% done.

The EU also have loads of other vaccines coming soon, so it's a bit daft to threaten their Pfizer supply especially when this is the vaccine they all want!

I suspect diplomacy will out here. Both sides need it.

Nannyamc · 22/03/2021 23:14

UK has a great record with vaccines probably the highest in the world..congratulations to all involved
ROI is very bad and cases are on the cusp as in most EU countries
USA mid in terms of vaccines
Uk are managing pandemic now. The rest of us must watch and wait

SummerBody1 · 22/03/2021 23:14

A quick google shows this, but I've seen it lots. - AZ were to submit this week and approval expected almost immediately, but this google search mentions an April submission,

AstraZeneca has not yet sought approval in the EU for Halix, but the official and a second EU source said the request was on its way.

Without regulatory approval, vaccines produced at Halix cannot be used in the EU.

from
www.rte.ie/news/2021/0322/1205344-astrazeneca/

SummerBody1 · 22/03/2021 23:25

@Wakeupin2022 I share your suspicion.

For me the row is completely with AZ, not Oxford or the Jenner Institute who I think must hate all of this. And while Oxford is supplying it's technology at cost, AZ CEO got a 7 figure bonus last year. As an aside, the Director of the Jenner Institute (the home of Covax) is Irish.

HeddaGarbled · 22/03/2021 23:56

Instead they've acted like a spoiled toddler at a party, holding all the sweets to their chest and crying, "mine mine mine!"

Hmmm 🤔

SummerBody1 · 23/03/2021 00:05

@HeddaGarbled that was a quote from a previous tweet - the 'bold' failed. I meant to answer it - NOT agree with it.

donewithitalltodayandxmas · 23/03/2021 00:07

@Wakeupin2022 I have read not approved in uk yet either ?

SummerBody1 · 23/03/2021 00:13

I read that too Done , but I also read that there had been exports from there to the UK in spite of this. It's all so... so... odd.

donewithitalltodayandxmas · 23/03/2021 00:43

@SummerBody1 yes one report I read said samples? The contracts all seem a bit messed up