Will Brexit delay the vaccine supplies?

[MrsMigginsMate]

Not sure if this should be in Brexit or Coronavirus....

What does everyone think will happen to vaccine supplies after Brexit? The Pfizer one isn't manufactured here, do we think there will be delays? Are there ways around the potential shipping delays?

Do you not think that someone is already thinking about this?

Thanks @BasinHaircut what an insightful post. Pray tell, what is the plan then?

I had thought the government should have a plan for a lot of things but it appears they have fucked up so much so far it makes you wonder.

The end of Brexit Transition will bollocks up the supply of ALL medicines and vaccines

In fact Basin, let's just delete the whole Brexit discussion forum because someone up high must already be thinking about it, no need for us plebs to discuss anything.

Do you not think that someone is already thinking about this?

🤣🤣🤣 Where have you been for the last year since Boris got in??!

Yes, ordinarily you’d expect a responsible government to have thought and planned for this.....

@MrsMigginsMate

In fact Basin, let's just delete the whole Brexit discussion forum because someone up high must already be thinking about it, no need for us plebs to discuss anything.

I know you're genuinely annoyed but your response here really made me laugh. Why even have Mumsnet, eh? When someone is bound to be already thinking about many of the things we say.

So is that a yes or a no?

I think they will have things in place to overcome it. As much as I disagree with Brexit, I do believe that everything will be being done to try and make the UK effective on vaccines, especially given the poor initial reaction in Feb/ March.

I am hoping that it will be an extra factor in making sure that they agree a deal with the EU as well. If no deal means no/not enough vaccines, then I would hope that they would do the right thing.

@BasinHaircut

So is that a yes or a no?

Christ Basin you're not getting this are you? The thread is for asking what the plan actually is, if you don't have any information then jog on.

Yes I hope you're right @SuperbGorgonzola , if there is some sort of deal it will probably take into account vaccine supply. But in the event of no deal, say the nightmare scenario comes true and our ports are gridlocked is there a loophole both in terms of admin and physical movement that can be used for medical supplies? I had the fuzzy idea that certain checks and balances could be waived for urgent supplies but I can't find a source for where I read that now.

In terms of news coverage I've mainly seen stories that the Audit office says supplies will definitely be held up but Shapps says they won't, they have some special but unspecified plan..
They had a plan for covid testing and that went ever so we'll didn't it.

It would be interesting to find out the details of this plan, am I missing a report somewhere?

Plan’s here: www.gov.uk/guidance/importing-medicines-on-an-approved-country-for-import-list-from-1-january-2021

You are welcome.

I think they will have things in place to overcome it.
I wish I had your optimism
but as per the big threads I have some experience of Customs Clearance procedures

In terms of news coverage I've mainly seen stories that the Audit office says supplies will definitely be held up but Shapps says they won't, they have some special but unspecified plan.
Friends who work at the NAO are already drafting the reports which will show this government up as a complete shower of shit
Grant Two Names Shapps is a known liar
Al Boris Johnson is a known liar
shall I go on ?

I find anything about Brexit really hard to make sense of. It's either going to be apocalyptic and we'll be drinking our own urine, or we'll barely notice a thing depending on what you read.

From what I do understand, a deal is close but there are a couple of stalemates, and I think a mature approach to compromise needs to be taken to get it over the line, particularly when it comes to fighting the virus. I hope all the no deal talk is bluster.

Basin
Lovely link
but misses out the physical bit of HOW the stuff will get into the country through the queues

getting rid of red tape my arse

Yes that's what I mean ListeningQuietly , it doesn't actually deal with the practical side.....fly over the queue via helicopter? Parcel delivery drone? Perhaps Shapps is busy crafting some sort of trebuchet to fling it over the lorry car park?

It'll almost certainly come in by air anyway but presumably it could be expedited through the ports if it had to go by road for some reason. There's no reason why it should though.

There's rather a lot of excess airline capacity at the moment if someone wants to pay for it, so I can't really see that side of things being an issue.

There's no need to worry about anyone having to queue up at customs to get it checked either.

Airfreight : yup could work - reconfigure T5 for freight

Expedited through the ports
NOPE
if the berths are clogged, they are clogged.

Airfreight : yup could work - reconfigure T5 for freight

I've not done the calculations but I suspect you're overestimating the volume of this stuff.

4,875 doses per box apparently. I make that 8,205 boxes for 40 million doses. Over the course of a couple of months is it? That's just 140 boxes per day to fly in.

Fishes
2 doses per person
refrigerated boxes (think 1 cubic metre per box)
plus handling

yeah, you are right.
T4 instead

Oh, and do not forget all the other medicines that will be flying over the Farage Garage

Are there ways around the potential shipping delays?

Yes, and they announced the military involvement on the day of the Pfizer press release.

C130

C130
does not get around
the crashing lack of customs clearance agents
even at Fairford

It won't come by air. It has to be kept at -75c. Do you have any idea how heavy those containers are? They will have to come by trucks and if those trucks don't have a magic way of queue jumping a lot of doses of vaccine will be wasted and Pfizer won't be topping up what we are allocated. It's a complete cluster fuck.