Why are the EU saying astra zennica vaccine is ineffective

[StephenBelafonte]

Why are the EU saying astra zennica vaccine is ineffective whilst telling them to hurry up with production and give vaccine to EU before anyone else?

It's bizzare!

Short answer - Gaslighting and DARVO. It's classic tactics to punish and attempt to bring someone country back under control, but the EU aren't terribly elegant with it and have wound up looking completely mad.

Astra zeneca have been caught in the cross hairs and treated appallingly. I read this morning that they thought they're were doing the right thing in delivering this vaccine to the world at cost, but based on how they've been treated they would reconsider ever doing the same again. Can't say I blame them.

I anticipate industry will think twice about locating IP, physical assets, manufacturing capacity and even storage/transport logistics within the EU if it is ready and willing to seize private property at whim.

@FOJN

Apparently, AZ have said they will never take part in an 'at cost' rollout again - what was actually a really public spirited thing to do, has been turned into a PR headache for their brand.

Their share price has taken a nose dive too. They agreed to producing at cost because it was a condition of the Oxford scientists, having got a pharmaceutical company to prioritise lives over profit the EU have completely fucked it up, slow hand clap for them. No good deed goes unpunished.

They weren’t entirely responsible for cocking it up thought. The U.K. government needs to take some responsibility here and some if the things being blamed on the ‘EU’ here are down to individual countries decisions, not the EU.

I’d imagine Pfizer are breathing a huge sigh of relief that the U.K. government blocked them from working with Oxford in favour of AZ.

It was Merck not Pfizer.

What has the UK government done wrong in relation to the AZ vaccine?

Ha, @Lockheart and @BIWI

It's neither 😂

From what I have read it is mainly political, driven from the Eu being slow to sign vaccine contracts and roll out the programmes. They needed a strong decisive leader but by the time they’d faffed around they’d missed the boat.

They’ve made themselves look ridiculous, and many people I know who were very upset at leaving the Eu are now having a rethink! (Including me).

It’s interesting though, despite the uk government being first to sign the contracts, and therefore deserving the first vaccine deliveries, and also promising to deliver them to poorer countries, and Astra Zeneca selling the vaccine at cost price to make sure it is not cost prohibitive, some people in the uk are still quick to admonish the both of them and say they’re not being fair! I think people that say this are forgetting that these are contracts signed and agreed with private companies and they need to understand the situation a bit more before giving their deluded opinions.

And as for the smear campaign by some Eu leaders about the Oxford vaccine, that was just sour grapes, but it will have massively backfired on them, and will have probably caused untold damage to the reputation of the Eu worldwide, plus to the uptake of the vaccine in Eu countries.

@Tigerchips

Ha, *@Lockheart and @BIWI*

It's neither 😂

First rule of pedantry - you will make a mistake

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay the UK government had no say at all in who Oxford worked with. They chose AZ because they agreed to make vaccine at cost and set up manufacturing on all continents. No one makes a profit out of AZ, unlike all the other vaccines.
The UK government has got a lot wrong, but not this. The EU are behaving appallingly and look spiteful. And what they are planning is illegal.

God the reporting on this has got really nationalistic.

Nobody has said its ineffective - at least, not the EU (by which I assume you mean actual European Union officials, or the European Medical Agency, not random European leaders?)

My understanding is: - Astra Zenica sent incorrect dosage info/samples when having vaccine initially approved for us in EU, which led to delays in approval.
-There was some concern from test data about how efficient it is in older cohorts.

• In response to this, nobody wanted to stop using it: some countries used it exclusively in younger workers, where they felt it was undoubtedly efficient.
• There were some worrying and anomalous potential side effects reported a few weeks ago, causing to a number of countries worldwide (some European, some not) to temporarily pause distribution. Now further investigation has been done, its been reinstated in less than two weeks.

I'm in Ireland, think the export ban stuff has been very badly handled but find the UK reporting a bit horrifying. Our government has been trying to buy up these 'stockpiled' European supplies of AZ nobody is using: turned out they don't actually exist. I think the principle of investigate side effects and be sure is very helpful. We don't give AZ to over-70s, but we have used it extensively to vaccinate our healthcare workers.

And to be honest, I do think AZ seems to have somewhat shafted the EU with their supply vs contract, for whatever reason, but its a company. Not even a 100%. british company. So the weird equating antipathy towards AZ supply chain with hatred of the British isn't something I've seen outside the Daily Mail.

AZ was banned last week in many member states. Before that it wasn't fit for over 65s then suddenly only fit fit under 55s.
And AZ have not shafted the EU. There are millions of unused doses in EU fridges currently.
EU planned to ban exports to UK even though bought and paid for.
If I lived in EU I'd be terrified by all this as the world is watching. And if I was looking to set up a nee factory somewhere it would now not be EU. Who think they can take a companies product whenever they fancy.

You are right it was Merck.

Lollipop, it’s a bit more complicated than that. The purchasing agreements were signed at about the same time, with the EU’s possibly coming slightly earlier. It’s more the research agreements that have caused the issue. U.K. funded Oxford early with a proviso that it supplied Britain 1st. The EU didn’t put that into their research clause with BioNTech, because they naively believed it wasn’t necessary. That clauserolled over into the AZ purchasing contract but the EU failed to put a similar one in the Pfize contract.

Which rather unsurprisingly caused a bit of uproar when the European population discovered that the EU was supplying vaccines to the U.K. and the US who both are putting themselves first before exports. Meanwhile Russia and China just seem to be getting on with it.

The U.K. reporting on this has been dire namechange.

Isn’t it the US that has all the stockpiles of AZ. They won’t export it, but they aren’t in a rush to approve it either. And they don’t appear to be particularly happy with the data in the Oxford/AZ press releases. Although presumably they have the actual data as well.

[quote mumsneedwine]@RafaIsTheKingOfClay the UK government had no say at all in who Oxford worked with. They chose AZ because they agreed to make vaccine at cost and set up manufacturing on all continents. No one makes a profit out of AZ, unlike all the other vaccines.
The UK government has got a lot wrong, but not this. The EU are behaving appallingly and look spiteful. And what they are planning is illegal.[/quote]
No, that’s wrong. Oxford were going to initially work with Merck but the DoH refused to approve the contract because they refused to put in a clause about Britain first and were worried about the US preventing exports. A decision that proved remarkably prescient as it turned out.

I work in a vaccination centre and one woman this week got as far as the vaccinator before throwing a strop and saying she wanted the Pfizer. She left.

It was on my tongue to tell her to take what she's given and be grateful.

@mumsneedwine

AZ was banned last week in many member states. Before that it wasn't fit for over 65s then suddenly only fit fit under 55s. And AZ have not shafted the EU. There are millions of unused doses in EU fridges currently. EU planned to ban exports to UK even though bought and paid for. If I lived in EU I'd be terrified by all this as the world is watching. And if I was looking to set up a nee factory somewhere it would now not be EU. Who think they can take a companies product whenever they fancy.

This isn't true. Nor is the OP. Before people get their knickers in a twist they really need to do some reading on the issue,

It wasn't banned, it was suspended. They've resumed using it now in Germany at least. I've not kept up with everywhere.

It's effective for over 65's this week.

Last week it was under 65's.

Who knows for next week..........

There was some concern from test data about how efficient it is in older cohorts.

Wrong - there was limited data but not concerns apart from a false story in a German newspaper and an idiot president claiming it was quasi ineffective.

With regards to British media - it's well known for being pretty shit.

I've looked at a few Irish journalists on Twitter and wow their anti UK agenda really shines through.

I've actually been quite appalled as I normally avoid the worst of the bigoted press in the UK so its been a bit if an eye opener.

With regard to the orders for AZ - the UK placed their order (and money) several months before the EU signed their contract.

The UK contract was for fixed amounts against a set timetable, the EU contract was on a 'best efforts' basis, ie. no fixed supply dates.

Basically the UK approached the whole purchase of vaccines strategically, and were given the funds to do so.

And as a PP said, the Govt. would not allow Oxford to partner with a supplier who had no British involvement. They could presumably give this instruction, as they invested so much money into the Oxford AZ development.

It looks like the Dictator in Hungary has done a better job of protecting his citizens as he side stepped the EU and got his vaccines from Russia and China, thereby rolling out a fast vaccination programme. He has also said that vaccine conspiracy theories will get a five year jail sentence.

He has also said that vaccine conspiracy theories will get a five year jail sentence

That’s a relatively mild response from a dictator.