EU threaten to cut off vaccine supply to the UK 2

[Baileysforchristmas]

As the other thread is full

www.politico.eu/article/commission-proposes-six-week-vaccine-export-ban-amid-fears-of-trade-war/

AZ have contracts that they are trying to fulfil. Their staff are apparently demoralised - who wouldnt be - but they are still producing millions of vaccines in the EU and billions with partners around the world.

Impossible to find out how many are currently being produced in which location and the supply chains are complex. At least 2 things essential to the production and distribution of Pfizer vaccines are currently made in the uk. We dont currently have large vaccine manufacturers here, that is going to change.

I'm sure Novavax's reluctance to sign a contract with the EU is because of the current fuss with AZ. Novavax have started production but no vaccine producer starting a new process is going to sign up to anything other than a "best efforts" contract. They might contract with the EU later.

Reading the times today, editorial has come out batting for AZ , quite rightly. And another article with a positive mention too.
I think that’s the right way to go about it rather than politicians inevitably making it political.
I might even purchase a few shares to show my support too!
AZ does deserve gratitude and admiration, not carping as the times say.

@alreadytaken

AZ have contracts that they are trying to fulfil. Their staff are apparently demoralised - who wouldnt be - but they are still producing millions of vaccines in the EU and billions with partners around the world.

Impossible to find out how many are currently being produced in which location and the supply chains are complex. At least 2 things essential to the production and distribution of Pfizer vaccines are currently made in the uk. We dont currently have large vaccine manufacturers here, that is going to change.

I'm sure Novavax's reluctance to sign a contract with the EU is because of the current fuss with AZ. Novavax have started production but no vaccine producer starting a new process is going to sign up to anything other than a "best efforts" contract. They might contract with the EU later.

Can they not say I'm sorry think we over committed and won't sign as may let you down and we know how that angers you. They could even use uk to produce for the block. Such a risk set up within the block now.

Feel so sorry for az I'm not sure they can walk away.
Mayhe they should seek legal advice and take EU to court.

I might even purchase a few shares to show my support too

I too want to, any help and pointers to buying their shares, would be good.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/cheap-online-sharedealing/

It depends how much you're buying if it's worth using a stockbroker or just buying online.

@FleeingBlue

To be honest the cynic in me thinks that all the outrage from UVdL et.al. stems from them thinking they had pulled a fast one on the UK whereby their contract gave the EU priority access to UK produced vaccines - and then discovering that they did not.

I think this is exactly it.

I was only thinking a hundred or so, Pascal needn’t get too excited
I’m no investor unless you count my kids child trust fund isas
But I reckon the shares will be on the up 2021

Just to clear up a few misconceptions. Halix is NOT AZ. It is a contractor. So it depends who it has been contracted by.....

www.halix.nl/2021/03/26/halixs-agreement-astrazeneca-commercial-manufacture-covid-19-vaccine/

Making vaccines does not give a guaranteed yield as it is a biological process.

If I make a cake and follow the recipe to the letter, my resulting cake should be of the size expected.

Vaccine production DOES NOT work in the same way.,

It's perhaps more like making bread. There's an art to kneading, as well as quality of yeast and flour that can lead to very different outcomes.

@MRex
That is a bloody brilliant example.

I wish I had thought of it!

[quote BigWoollyJumpers]Just to clear up a few misconceptions. Halix is NOT AZ. It is a contractor. So it depends who it has been contracted by.....

www.halix.nl/2021/03/26/halixs-agreement-astrazeneca-commercial-manufacture-covid-19-vaccine/[/quote]
The delay ema approving halix has puzzled me.
We had them shouting in jan more vaccines.
Yet no rush. Surely when ema approved az they then should have approved both eu factories straight away.
Eu are blaming az they dident apply.
But surely they have known of its existence for a while.
Maybe az didrnt apply as was never part of EU supply chain.

@MRex

It's perhaps more like making bread. There's an art to kneading, as well as quality of yeast and flour that can lead to very different outcomes.

Great analogy - although i'd say sourdough. My starter sulks horribly if it isn't fed regularly kept warm and cosy.

Reading the times today, editorial has come out batting for AZ , quite rightly. And another article with a positive mention too.

There's a nice short film on the BBC about the facility in north Wales where the AZ is put into vials. Perhaps there's a push to get positive coverage in the UK media to counterbalance all the negativity elsewhere? BBC link

Wockhardt UK: Inside the factory making the AstraZeneca vaccine

While Europe faces a shortage of vaccines and governments argue about who gets what, one company in north Wales is producing jabs solely for the UK population.

Almost all of the UK's AstraZeneca supply comes through here; it's where the vaccine's filled into sterile vials, inspected dozens of times, and sent out for distribution.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it a "saviour of humanity" and it's fair to say the staff inside are feeling immense pressure - and pride - from their role in the vaccination programme.

Interesting article from the Guardian

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/27/heroes-to-zeros-how-german-efficiency-wrecked-its-covid-vaccine-drive

[quote Baileysforchristmas]Interesting article from the Guardian

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/27/heroes-to-zeros-how-german-efficiency-wrecked-its-covid-vaccine-drive[/quote]
It is interesting

It's another example of how despite the existence of the EU and "Brussels" countries in Europe often organise and perform core functions in very different ways...

No. But as the EU is not taking legal recourse as per the contract the likelihood is too that they cannot. Why all the fuss otherwise?

It isn't that simple. Legal proceedings tend to polarise positions and more importantly take years, even if you don't factor in any appeals. I think that the contract may also have an escalation clause requiring good faith negotiations before proceedings can be issued. Hard to see how legal proceedings would address current acute situation, particularly since (as I continue to believe) the position under the contract is not as clear as either party would like it to be!

Yet no rush. Surely when ema approved az they then should have approved both eu factories straight away

EMA, as I noted a few pages back, have not altered the way they approve. They have stuck to their methodology of sequential approval, rather than consolidating. So, each and every step, and each and every site, is a separate approval process, requiring bespoke documentation.

We didn't do it that way. As with vaccine approval, we allowed for fast track approval, with steps occurring concurrently, rather than sequentially.

It's "risky" behaviour, as indicated by EC snipping. We approved too fast, we are not safe, we took risks. Well, yes. It was a risk, but also shows that a flexible system can be safe, when all parties are communicating and on-board.

the contract may also have an escalation clause requiring good faith negotiations
Does that "good faith" negotiating usually include armed raids on third party factories with specific statements given to global media that the supplier has been hiding stock, then not apologising when it turns out over half was your own supplies?

We should all send thank you cards to AZ. Those of us that have had the vaccine, those that are very happy parents have had it.

Lets make AZ feel better, because they are doing an amazing job for the whole world!!!!

Yes, I like the idea of inundating their head office with thank you cards, so they have enough to give one to all staff, suppliers, Oxford team member, vaccination team member... Just given out at random and keep the surplus for displays.

Yes to Oxford team too

I got a sponsored post on Instagram from Oxford University about the vaccine and I looked at the comments out of curiosity. I thought it’d be full of thanks but no worse comments than you even get here. Obviously toxic trolls are evident in many corners of the internet. But I don’t know how we’ve even gone from recognising a scientific breakthrough saving us all from a dire future to you’re all evil without much pause.

from the guardian link.

I mean, what?
In Lower Saxony, authorities used post office records to seek out candidates for the first round of jabs, guessing people’s ages on the basis of their first names

Just how and who thought that was a good idea?

MarshaBradyo

oh that's really awful to hear