Coronavirus (2021) thread

[domalino]

Not sure they’re prohibited. Bilateral deals certainly violate the spirit of the alliance purchasing agreement, but countries are still free to order more from suppliers. I think it’s on the condition that the Alliance is supplied first. Doesn’t make much difference when there aren’t any to go around, mind.

The EU are currently investigating it because Germany made the deal while threatening the other member states that no bilateral deals were allowed.

 

[Ban-jani]

No.

What’s the Oxford one then?

 

[inchy14]

Sure, but those countries can slap on an emergency export ban if they want.

I'm not saying that they would be right to, just that there is an absolute imperative to cooperate here. Both ethically and pragmatically.

We should just park a couple of Chenooks on the car park to bring ours back... treat it like a Black Friday sale at Curry’s!!

 

[Gabriel]

Indeed.
I think, adding insult to injury, the Merck vaccine has been shelved.

Strange that. When we were all waiting for vaccines, we were told there was little chance of the first candidates working, and to wait for later ones, yet the first three were approved, and now companies that have received millions are closing their programmes.

 

[squirtyflower]

Are you sure? Because the Germans think it is. Peter Liese of Germany's Christian Democratic Union -

"The flimsy justification that there are difficulties in the EU supply chain but not elsewhere does not hold water, as it is of course no problem to get the vaccine from the UK to the continent," he said.

I’ve read that the initial vaccine is being produced in the Netherlands and, oh oh, Germany.
However the UK is intending to make the vast majority of its own vaccine.

 

[Ban-jani]

We should just park a couple of Chenooks on the car park to bring ours back... treat it like a Black Friday sale at Curry’s!!

We should carpet bomb Berlin, that’s what we should do.

Even if it’s one big misunderstanding, it’ll teach them.

 

[domalino]

I’ve read that the initial vaccine is being produced in the Netherlands and, oh oh, Germany.
However the UK is intending to make the vast majority of its own vaccine.

Astrazeneca has presence in 100 countries all over the world so I'm sure manufacturing is completely spread out. Some is being made here, I guess it's all about how much.

 

[squirtyflower]

I don't claim to know what's going on here.

The only thing I do know is that leak to the German press is reprehensible, and we need to agree with the EU a way forward acceptable to everyone.

Otherwise we're all screwed.

No, the only way forward is what is the law. Goodness how many times have we been told that the last five years?
Withholding paid for goods, stealing or impounding goods not belonging to them and threatening and blackmailing people isn’t right, especially when it’s done by a huge bloc who were too slow to get things sorted so start to throw their weight around.
That’s also reprehensible.

 

[Summerbuzz]

How do their threatening to ban the exports of vaccine to the UK impact the UK?

Does that really need explaining?

Err, slight brain fade there. But it's just a threat at the moment.

TBH, there were already many existing rumours about supply in the coming two months.

2m AZ a week was mooted for this period, I don't recall reading anything about anything beyond that. Pfizer are retooling which will hamper supply for some time. It always looked like crunch time.

Honestly though, where do you think the bulk of supply is going right now? It's certainly not Germany.

We can sabre rattle all we like and call the Germans moral degenerates. It doesn't really matter. Without a global agreement, or us being in the EU, the Germany and EU legal frameworks are always possible barriers. Supply was always dependant on that.

Personally, I don't have much time for us rattling the nationalist sabre when it suits us and then crying foul when being on our own hurts us. Or examples of optimism that didn't deliver for some reason. We have lawyers, diplomats and other clever people to wargame and point out where things can go wrong.

I thought there was a manic air to this thread earlier on, and now I think I got it.

But yeah, fuck Germany! Right? Fuck the EU. Fuck Sturgeon. All making our life difficult.

Cmon. This is what happens in the big wide world when you set yourself up as independent and taking no prisoners. Rip up agreements and burn goodwill, and you inevitably free up the other parties.

Little sympathy here for the fat one or his supporters. I believe the phrase is 'Get it done'.

Deliver. Or don't. Just don't waste my time moralising. That's how people end up accepting less. Results talk, the rest is worthless.

 

[MillionMilesAway]

Astrazeneca has presence in 100 countries all over the world so I'm sure manufacturing is completely spread out. Some is being made here, I guess it's all about how much.

I think AZ only have one manufacturing site in the UK at Macclesfield. It's big for the UK, but produces lots of things and may not have the kit for the vaccine.