marcelh wrote:Olddog wrote:What reputational damage? Do you think the whole world is full of idiots that are unable to see who allowed vaccines to be exported and who like UK and US hoarded them?
This. A lot of people outside the EU still think it’s a union of “useful idiots”. People at this forum are bragging about how many people have been saved in the UK by the vaccination program and conveniently ignoring the fact that a lot of those vaccines were produced in the EU. Those are the same blaming the EU for being incompetent while AZ (part British) hasn’t been able to meet their contractual obligations by far. AZ was 90 million doses short by the end of March; those could have saved a lot of people (I personally know one of them, may he Rest In Peace).
There's a kite-flying feel to this that I'm not sure I understand, and that in my opinion is not reflected in the posting..
Who thinks the EU is a union of "useful idiots" - on this thread at least. Ignore the Express, Mail, and Boris's cronies.
Some of us have expressed concerns over certain aspects of the EU's vaccination journey, but then we've done the same to the UK and other countries.
As it stands, I think the EMA has been completely coherent in its approach.
Some of the member states, such as Germany and France seem to have gone their own way in some cases, and in doing so exhibited a less than coherent and conflicted approach to, for example, the AZ vaccine and how it should be used.
The head of the vaccine committee in Germany admitted that this had caused an issue
I get the feeling that is in the past now, as vaccination momentum build..
"Bragging" abut how many people have been saved in the UK?
Many lives have been saved. That's a fact.
Most of that discussion has been to support how effective the AZ vaccine is and that it should be respected as such.
And it should. It saves lives. Lots of them. "Bragging"?
Really unpleasant comment if I may say so
We all get that AZ have not met their contractual commitments.
We might question how robust the contract with the EU was compared to that with the UK and whether AZ have looked for an easy way out.
In the current circumstances, I would have thought that helping AZ get up to speed as much as possible would be the most appropriate response to maximise the supply of vaccine.
The legal case should follow when there is more stability in my opinion.
I agree, there's no doubt the AZ vaccines shipped to the UK would have saved lives in the EU
They did save lives in the UK
I wonder whether saving lives in the UK is seen as a less noble use of the vaccine than saving lives in the EU, and if so, why that is, and why it would be seen as "bragging" to say so?
If the legal action forces AZ out of the vaccination programme, that will be millions of lives around the world that won't be saved until the supply of other vaccines completely meets demand.
Is that really a good outcome?
Rgds