Dave Keating @davekeating
Boris Johnson spokesperson: “The U.K. has legally-binding agreements with vaccine suppliers and it would not expect the EU, as a friend and ally, to do anything to disrupt the fulfilment of these contracts.”
Either the UK’s or the EU’s AZ contract isn’t going to be honoured here
And this is the central problem.
There’s only so many doses to go around, and it appears AZ can’t meet its commitments to both the UK and the EU in Q1.
If the EU backs down, it means EU citizens won’t get the doses they were promised.
This is only going to get uglier.
Steve Analyst @emperorsnewc
There is actually another way, and I think it's in the contract. It's time for the Commission to work with the member, states the UK and with AZ in terms of working out how to boost supply.
The AZ contracts can't be filled, arguing over today's supply is just not productive.
Or, we can spend all our time arguing about what we can't fix. Get angry and outraged and maybe plant the seeds of resentment to harvest later on.
I mean... I know people are dying and everything, but why should they be our priority when we can make it all about nationalism?
Those really are the options here.
1. Look at the resources we have between us to see how we can leverage them.
2. Argue the toss and get angry and bitter.
Or both, and then it's down to the order.
I don't know about in politics, but in the private sector we have something called a post-mortem where we invest time in (2) only after we complete (1)
Investing in (2) before (1), when you have to deliver whatever you can whenever you can, is really bad business.
This is the crux of things.
And does the uk want to resolve the problem or invoke nationalism for its own agenda?
Take the Pfizer supply issues. After pressure, BioNTech through the kitchen sink at its Belgium plant and reduced the closure from one month to one week.
Resources here could be thrown at the problem and probably reduce the scale of the shortage.
Bit it lacks political will on both sides to do this.
AZ are caught in the middle of this and now Ireland are too. That doesn't help anyone.
This is where you need the diplomacy.
Where are you going to find it? Who, on both sides, is going to take that leadership.
My problem is ultimately that i dont see any candidates for doing that. In which case yes this is going to start spiralling.