One lesson I think the UK side have learnt from the international law incident is to do what Europe do - act how you want while insisting absolutely unequivocally your actions are legal and proper. Don't give an inch.
The EU can start years of dispute resolution if they want, or they can resolve it amicably by negotiating with us. That's how nations operate.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I hope they are not that stupid, because if they are doing that I think we’d quickly have to reassess our commitment to their security through NATO. Surely we all want to see the western alliance endure?
Due to issues I've already mentioned earlier today - Germany needs a guaranteed source of gas and that can only come from Russia.
So it really wouldn't surprise me if we see the EU (under German influence) move more and more towards Russia in a desperate attempt to avoid their population dying from cold.
And note that on the same day Germany has suspended AZ, we get news they are about to bless the manufacture of SputnikV in Germany
This bill has the feel of some of the more unpleasant / authoritarian stuff that we saw under New Labour and Theresa May. I think in the coalition the LDs were a protection in some measure. It looks like a further corrosion of policing by consent.
In "relevant impact", relevant is also lethal, as a chameleon word. Impact on whom? "Serious impact", properly scoped, would be more reasonable. I am reminded of the justification by Extinction Rebellion that there cause was so important that people being blocked from their cancer treatment appointments was acceptable.
And "causing offence" has no place whatsover in a legal test here. Did we not just get shot of that in one of the public protection laws from the Major era?
We are in a serious situation; the Conservative party clearly feels that it is ordained by God to rule and is taking steps to ensure that opposition is stifled.
When I was a small child I was told that our soldiers, my father and uncle among them, were fighting for 'freedom' and the 'British way'. I am sure both would be horrified by the suggestions now being put forward,
I dont think it's that serious - however, in matters such as this it is the case the you be over cautious about government power and minimising debate and scrutiny, as if it goes bad it goes very bad.
One lesson I think the UK side have learnt from the international law incident is to do what Europe do - act how you want while insisting absolutely unequivocally your actions are legal and proper. Don't give an inch.
The EU can start years of dispute resolution if they want, or they can resolve it amicably by negotiating with us. That's how nations operate.
Not Britain under Johnson's leadership. He's said as much.
Some excellent points, as ever - but again, written at such length it loses impact. A shame.
I see you haven't entirely escaped the malign influence of Twitter. In this case on your attention span.
Possibly some truth in that. In fact I believe this is scientifically proven: human attention spans have shortened with the advent of the Net.
On the other hand lockdown has got me back reading long books, day in day out, a good habit I had lost.
I just don't want to read long books on PB.
Long books? Try "Underworld" by Don DeLillo. Post-war USA in the form of an 800-page novel. Nearly finished it, and will feel bereft when I have. Utterly compelling. Starts with an extraordinary evocation of the 1951 baseball match when Bobby Thomson hit the "shot that was heard round the world." Tremendous vignettes featuring the likes of J Edgar Hoover and Lenny Bruce. Reading it is the best thing I've done since lockdown commenced - along with discovering Miles Davis (and me a confirmed jazz-hater, or so I thought).
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I hope they are not that stupid, because if they are doing that I think we’d quickly have to reassess our commitment to their security through NATO. Surely we all want to see the western alliance endure?
Due to issues I've already mentioned earlier today - Germany needs a guaranteed source of gas and that can only come from Russia.
So it really wouldn't surprise me if we see the EU (under German influence) move more and more towards Russia in a desperate attempt to avoid their population dying from cold.
And note that on the same day Germany has suspended AZ, we get news they are about to bless the manufacture of SputnikV in Germany
Now leave this problem with me for a few days. it is complex to answer.
Do I have a leaning towards the AZ vaccine or SputnikV vaccine? AZ may have screwed up some trials and data. SputnikV is smothered in compelling data from trials and use. Compelling in what way is the question.
Think I may put my trust in the Clots at AZ who messed up the trials a bit.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
Angered more than saddened and shocked.
It makes me angry that there is a tool to defeat Covid that has been developed and they're undermining it while simultaneously increasing the odds of variants developing.
The government really should say no foreign holidays until they catch up, the EU just is not safe to visit. They're so far behind us its ridiculous.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I think the EU would rather bend over backwards for the devil than try and accommodate the UK.
Guys, I know you're all getting excited, and I agree that this is a major clusterfuck which will cost many lives, but it isn't actually anything to do with the EU. The EMA is the body being sensible here. It is individual states, some in the EU but some outside the EU, who are acting irrationally. And it's mostly not politicians, either.
Cases essentially flat while testing still well up.
POSITIVE TESTS
These will turn upwards in the next few days, and we'll be hearing a lot from the Zero Covid psychopaths, who wilfully conflate cases with positive tests.
This does not seem right. Say France is having 1/2000 of its population infected each day (25k/50m for round numbers), of the 100k not vaccinated today, we'd expect 50 to get COVID. Of those, maybe 1 would be expected to die.
I agree with the underlying sentiment of the analysis, but you do yourself a disservice if you can't do the maths correctly.
Surely there is a CFR differential in those eligible for the vaccine right now given that AZ has been approved for use in all ages in France and is being rolled out to older age groups first.
This does not seem right. Say France is having 1/2000 of its population infected each day (25k/50m for round numbers), of the 100k not vaccinated today, we'd expect 50 to get COVID. Of those, maybe 1 would be expected to die.
The true rate of COVID is always greatly in excess of the numbers found through testing.
A more accurate method would be to look at the profile of those entering hospital and dying of COVID. We know that the vaccinations stop this almost completely.....
OK, Say that CFR for those eligible for the vaccine now is 8%, that gets you to 4 deaths per day. To get to 15, you'd have to say the CFR is 30% for those not getting the vaccine. Does seem right to you?
Again, I am in agreement that what is being done is madness. But our case is stronger if our figures are realistic and defensible. Even if it is only one life saved per day pre 100k vaccinations, that is a strong point. No need to put the case on shaky ground by claiming it is 15
Some well made points again, Cyclefree. I think the lack of scrutiny in this time is not just the government's fault. The opposition and media hold more of the blame IMO, they've been too happy focusing on process stories and gotcha moments rather than actually holding the government to account on some of the really big decisions they've failed on. Personally I think the biggest failure of the last year is the £38bn spent on test, trace and don't bother to isolate system. Not only is it our taxes being pissed away, it has also added months onto our year of lockdown.
I also agree that the restrictions on protests are egregious, finally Labour seems to have grown some kind of backbone and begun to actually oppose the government. Any government which puts the right to free protest under these kinds of measures is simply unfit for purpose. Giving the police ultimate say over what can and can't go ahead is moving us in the direction of a police state which given our Home Secretary is unsurprising. If only the liberal wing of the Tory party had reconciled itself to brexit in 2016 all of this could have been avoided and we'd actually have a liberal voice within the government.
The surprising thing is that detailed scrutiny by good quality opposition would allow them to become more knowledgeable and effective. This is why the Hindsight name is so damaging. It is easy to find the faults in hindsight, but detailed scrutiny and analysis before something is enacted both helps the Government improve legislation but also allows an opposition to show how good they would be? Have we had more than a handful of effective shadow ministers since 2010? I think Yvette Cooper was effective at one point. I can't say Benn or Starmer when they tried to frustrate brexit.
This does not seem right. Say France is having 1/2000 of its population infected each day (25k/50m for round numbers), of the 100k not vaccinated today, we'd expect 50 to get COVID. Of those, maybe 1 would be expected to die.
I agree with the underlying sentiment of the analysis, but you do yourself a disservice if you can't do the maths correctly.
Surely there is a CFR differential in those eligible for the vaccine right now given that AZ has been approved for use in all ages in France and is being rolled out to older age groups first.
This does not seem right. Say France is having 1/2000 of its population infected each day (25k/50m for round numbers), of the 100k not vaccinated today, we'd expect 50 to get COVID. Of those, maybe 1 would be expected to die.
The true rate of COVID is always greatly in excess of the numbers found through testing.
A more accurate method would be to look at the profile of those entering hospital and dying of COVID. We know that the vaccinations stop this almost completely.....
OK, Say that CFR for those eligible for the vaccine now is 8%, that gets you to 4 deaths per day. To get to 15, you'd have to say the CFR is 30% for those not getting the vaccine. Does seem right to you?
For over 80s its close to that, yes.
Don't forget that over 1/2000 are getting infected daily too since not all cases are caught by a longshot there.
They aren't temporary though. The deal signed doesn't work and won't work as it requires either an intra-Irish border or an intra-UK border. The Tories tried to pretend the intra-UK border they had agreed to didn't exist, have now had to face reality and politically its a non-starter. So they're pulling the plug and won't be able to restart it.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I think the EU would rather bend over backwards for the devil than try and accommodate the UK.
Indeed. One of the reasons I've reversed my position on this is because one of our guys who deals with EU based investment and has got very, very good political sources in Europe said that the people he knows are shocked that the UK isn't co-ordinating anything except the TCA with the EU and is instead acting completely independently of them. They expected the UK to continue to co-operate with the EU for external trade and to side with the EU at the WTO, UN and other international organisations automatically. That we haven't done those things has been a really, really big shock to the system for them and he says it's ramped up their jilted ex feelings more than before.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
Ditto. I'm a Leaver, and I confess, at first, I took some naughty pleasure in the EU comprehensively custard-pieing itself, again and again. The sudden imposition of a new Irish border, without asking Ireland, was my favourite moment. It was impossible not to feel schadenfreude after so many years of the EU, and its Remainer allies, sneering at UK incompetence (often justifiably, if somewhat overdone).
However this is now way beyond that. I am a European, this is my continent and my civilisation, I have friends, family and many acquaintances across the Channel. The ludicrous behaviour by Brussels and EU capitals endangers their lives, endangers economies, menaces future UK/EU relations (and EU relations elsewhere: see Australia), it also weakens the West - further and again - at a crucial time.
So now I just feel sadness. And alarm.
it's like seeing a respected if slightly irritating relative take up Ketamine and develop incontinence. I also wonder if this is how Britain looked, during the peak chaos of Brexit.
David Henig is another of those who is completely incapable of recognising an EU member state making a mistake. This is because he's spent the last four years entrenched in the black and white "EU good, UK bad" academia state of mind rather than looking at each issue objectively.
The academics I know (and I know quite a few, working in a university) think the EU (or, in this latter case, individual EU countries) is batshit crazy on this - and indeed on the AZN rubbishing/spat earlier in the year.
Most of them also think the UK was crazy in Brexiting/in the Brexit negotiations.
It is possible to hold both positions (and for both positions to be true - I know we all disagree on the second, but we can mostly agree on the first, I think).
Cases essentially flat while testing still well up.
POSITIVE TESTS
These will turn upwards in the next few days, and we'll be hearing a lot from the Zero Covid psychopaths, who wilfully conflate cases with positive tests.
The next week will be interesting on the case numbers. This week will start comparing with the increased testing of last week which should help. On the other hand it has been a week since the kids went back to school. If things can stay fairly static then that is a good thing.
I think though that we are on the verge of cases no longer being a predictor of hospital admissions and deaths due to the vaccine. I think more important to keep an eye on those hospital admissions and we only need to be wary if there is any sign of an uptick. Hopefully the vaccines will prevent this.
On the EU. WTF. Seriously? Have they all collectively lost their minds?
This does not seem right. Say France is having 1/2000 of its population infected each day (25k/50m for round numbers), of the 100k not vaccinated today, we'd expect 50 to get COVID. Of those, maybe 1 would be expected to die.
I agree with the underlying sentiment of the analysis, but you do yourself a disservice if you can't do the maths correctly.
Surely there is a CFR differential in those eligible for the vaccine right now given that AZ has been approved for use in all ages in France and is being rolled out to older age groups first.
This does not seem right. Say France is having 1/2000 of its population infected each day (25k/50m for round numbers), of the 100k not vaccinated today, we'd expect 50 to get COVID. Of those, maybe 1 would be expected to die.
The true rate of COVID is always greatly in excess of the numbers found through testing.
A more accurate method would be to look at the profile of those entering hospital and dying of COVID. We know that the vaccinations stop this almost completely.....
OK, Say that CFR for those eligible for the vaccine now is 8%, that gets you to 4 deaths per day. To get to 15, you'd have to say the CFR is 30% for those not getting the vaccine. Does seem right to you?
Again, I am in agreement that what is being done is madness. But our case is stronger if our figures are realistic and defensible. Even if it is only one life saved per day pre 100k vaccinations, that is a strong point. No need to put the case on shaky ground by claiming it is 15
Yes, from looking at UK data for those age groups the CFR is actually really very high, 30-40% sounds about right for an unvaccinated male over the age of 80.
Disappointing deaths number. Only one down on last Monday.
Indeed. But only one day's figures (Sunday v Sunday) at this stage. Hopefully the downward trend will continue to be demonstrated as we progress through the week, say 700 for the week this time next week (as opposed for 1,014 for the week just gone), then say 450 two weeks time, 250 to 300 for Easter week. A slowdown in the fall in the rate of deaths will cause much greater concern than apparent stagnation in the cases numbers.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
Ditto. I'm a Leaver, and I confess, at first, I took some naughty pleasure in the EU comprehensively custard-pieing itself, again and again. The sudden imposition of a new Irish border, without asking Ireland, was my favourite moment. It was impossible not to feel schadenfreude after so many years of the EU, and its Remainer allies, sneering at UK incompetence (often justifiably, if somewhat overdone).
However this is now way beyond that. I am a European, this is my continent and my civilisation, I have friends, family and many acquaintances across the Channel. The ludicrous behaviour by Brussels and EU capitals endangers their lives, endangers economies, menaces future UK/EU relations (and EU relations elsewhere: see Australia), it also weakens the West - further and again - at a crucial time.
So now I just feel sadness. And alarm.
it's like seeing a respected if slightly irritating relative take up Ketamine and develop incontinence. I also wonder if this is how Britain looked, during the peak chaos of Brexit.
It reveals some very deep problems with the political culture. The EU risks turning itself into a parody of the things Brexiteers said it was.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I must admit that I do find the endless whining of the brexiteers somewhat tedious. Their victimhood is just embarrassing. The EU is perfectly entitled to protect it's borders (as are we) and moaning that they are doing so it not going to make that any different. The UK has signed up to legally binding agreements and will be expected to follow them. I suggest that the government gets over it.
Guys, I know you're all getting excited, and I agree that this is a major clusterfuck which will cost many lives, but it isn't actually anything to do with the EU. The EMA is the body being sensible here. It is individual states, some in the EU but some outside the EU, who are acting irrationally. And it's mostly not politicians, either.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
The story I heard was the EU "Ambassador" to Australia tried to "order" the Australian government to block the UK application. On the grounds that the UK was is the EU "sphere of influence". The comment was made that it reminded people of how the Chinese talk.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
Angered more than saddened and shocked.
It makes me angry that there is a tool to defeat Covid that has been developed and they're undermining it while simultaneously increasing the odds of variants developing.
The government really should say no foreign holidays until they catch up, the EU just is not safe to visit. They're so far behind us its ridiculous.
I do honestly believe this is one instance (the whole vaccine issue not just the AZ idiocy at the moment) where I wish the European countries and the EU had proved me wrong and had shown how effectively they could work together to do something good.
No one, not Leaver or Remainer, should be celebrating the fact that people are dying because various European agencies and Governments are making a complete pigs ear of the vaccine rollout. All the more so because of the implications this has for the rest of the world who will be looking at the European issue in fear because it not only delays when they will get their vaccines but it undermines the whole concept of vaccination in the eyes of the uninformed.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
The story I heard was the EU "Ambassador" to Australia tried to "order" the Australian government to block the UK application. On the grounds that the UK was is the EU "sphere of influence". The comment was made that it reminded people of how the Chinese talk.
The way the EU relates to "third countries" is somewhat reminiscent of the Middle Kingdom attitude.
I've had a disturbing thought. If the number of deaths actually caused by Covid declines faster than the number of cases then the proportion of deaths from other causes counted as Covid caused (because test was positive within 30 days) will increase thereby masking the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Guys, I know you're all getting excited, and I agree that this is a major clusterfuck which will cost many lives, but it isn't actually anything to do with the EU. The EMA is the body being sensible here. It is individual states, some in the EU but some outside the EU, who are acting irrationally. And it's mostly not politicians, either.
Richard, you're not an idiot. Why is the EU as a whole, ie all of its most important states, picking on AZ, which is made not-for-profit by an Anglo-Swedish company, yet ignoring half-German Pfizer entirely? There is tiny evidence of nasty side effects with both vaccines, unconvincing yet it exists.
But only AZ is attacked, suspended, seized, impounded and smeared.
You really expect us to believe this has NOTHING to do with the EU's huge falling out with AZ a month back (which they tried to turn into a EU/UK battle, but we refused to give them the pleasure)? Really? You're honestly expecting us to believe that?
Your commentary on EU matters has gone from biased but well informed to biased and a bit stupid.
Guys, I know you're all getting excited, and I agree that this is a major clusterfuck which will cost many lives, but it isn't actually anything to do with the EU. The EMA is the body being sensible here. It is individual states, some in the EU but some outside the EU, who are acting irrationally. And it's mostly not politicians, either.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I think the EU would rather bend over backwards for the devil than try and accommodate the UK.
Indeed. One of the reasons I've reversed my position on this is because one of our guys who deals with EU based investment and has got very, very good political sources in Europe said that the people he knows are shocked that the UK isn't co-ordinating anything except the TCA with the EU and is instead acting completely independently of them. They expected the UK to continue to co-operate with the EU for external trade and to side with the EU at the WTO, UN and other international organisations automatically. That we haven't done those things has been a really, really big shock to the system for them and he says it's ramped up their jilted ex feelings more than before.
In fairness that could have happened had there been unrestricted access with mutual recognition across the board so that we remained full players within the SM. Every barrier that they chose to create drove the UK further away. It may already be too late to repair that damage. We are looking elsewhere and the proportion of our trade with the EU is about to fall sharply. Hundreds of thousands of European jobs will be lost as a result.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
I was always a remain voter without much love for the institution but I live in Spain so there were practical considerations. Have to say now if there was a vote tomorrow I'm no longer sure how I'd vote.
Guys, I know you're all getting excited, and I agree that this is a major clusterfuck which will cost many lives, but it isn't actually anything to do with the EU. The EMA is the body being sensible here. It is individual states, some in the EU but some outside the EU, who are acting irrationally. And it's mostly not politicians, either.
We'll see.
twitter.com/Cox_A_R/status/1371479900838838281
twitter.com/Cox_A_R/status/1371486701521149959
That would be disturbing indeed but since they'd need to provide a full justification for its suspension I think it would be difficult to do it as there isn't any reason to do so. The "precautionary principle" only takes you as far as the investigation and at this point they'd have to manufacture evidence which I find highly unlikely. The again, I also thought they wouldn't ban exports so who really knows.
Guys, I know you're all getting excited, and I agree that this is a major clusterfuck which will cost many lives, but it isn't actually anything to do with the EU. The EMA is the body being sensible here. It is individual states, some in the EU but some outside the EU, who are acting irrationally. And it's mostly not politicians, either.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I think the EU would rather bend over backwards for the devil than try and accommodate the UK.
Indeed. One of the reasons I've reversed my position on this is because one of our guys who deals with EU based investment and has got very, very good political sources in Europe said that the people he knows are shocked that the UK isn't co-ordinating anything except the TCA with the EU and is instead acting completely independently of them. They expected the UK to continue to co-operate with the EU for external trade and to side with the EU at the WTO, UN and other international organisations automatically. That we haven't done those things has been a really, really big shock to the system for them and he says it's ramped up their jilted ex feelings more than before.
I come at this from a very different angle than you, as you know, but it seems to me also that the EU's apparent expectations on that score were extremely unrealistic.
Some degree of coordination/consultation would not be unreasonable, but they appear to have expected us to entirely subcontract our trade policy to them.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
Ditto. I'm a Leaver, and I confess, at first, I took some naughty pleasure in the EU comprehensively custard-pieing itself, again and again. The sudden imposition of a new Irish border, without asking Ireland, was my favourite moment. It was impossible not to feel schadenfreude after so many years of the EU, and its Remainer allies, sneering at UK incompetence (often justifiably, if somewhat overdone).
However this is now way beyond that. I am a European, this is my continent and my civilisation, I have friends, family and many acquaintances across the Channel. The ludicrous behaviour by Brussels and EU capitals endangers their lives, endangers economies, menaces future UK/EU relations (and EU relations elsewhere: see Australia), it also weakens the West - further and again - at a crucial time.
So now I just feel sadness. And alarm.
it's like seeing a respected if slightly irritating relative take up Ketamine and develop incontinence. I also wonder if this is how Britain looked, during the peak chaos of Brexit.
I voted Remain for pragmatic, not ideological reasons.
The EU seems to have decided that they should behave as if Nigel Farage & Donald Trump were right. Which is batshit insane.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
Angered more than saddened and shocked.
It makes me angry that there is a tool to defeat Covid that has been developed and they're undermining it while simultaneously increasing the odds of variants developing.
The government really should say no foreign holidays until they catch up, the EU just is not safe to visit. They're so far behind us its ridiculous.
I do honestly believe this is one instance (the whole vaccine issue not just the AZ idiocy at the moment) where I wish the European countries and the EU had proved me wrong and had shown how effectively they could work together to do something good.
No one, not Leaver or Remainer, should be celebrating the fact that people are dying because various European agencies and Governments are making a complete pigs ear of the vaccine rollout. All the more so because of the implications this has for the rest of the world who will be looking at the European issue in fear because it not only delays when they will get their vaccines but it undermines the whole concept of vaccination in the eyes of the uninformed.
Is it a disaster in terms of vaccine PR, and a complete and utter misapplication of the "precautionary principle".
The story I heard was the EU "Ambassador" to Australia tried to "order" the Australian government to block the UK application. On the grounds that the UK was is the EU "sphere of influence". The comment was made that it reminded people of how the Chinese talk.
Has this "Ambassador" never met an Australian before? As a rule our Aussie friends don't like being told what to do.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
Ditto. I'm a Leaver, and I confess, at first, I took some naughty pleasure in the EU comprehensively custard-pieing itself, again and again. The sudden imposition of a new Irish border, without asking Ireland, was my favourite moment. It was impossible not to feel schadenfreude after so many years of the EU, and its Remainer allies, sneering at UK incompetence (often justifiably, if somewhat overdone).
However this is now way beyond that. I am a European, this is my continent and my civilisation, I have friends, family and many acquaintances across the Channel. The ludicrous behaviour by Brussels and EU capitals endangers their lives, endangers economies, menaces future UK/EU relations (and EU relations elsewhere: see Australia), it also weakens the West - further and again - at a crucial time.
So now I just feel sadness. And alarm.
it's like seeing a respected if slightly irritating relative take up Ketamine and develop incontinence. I also wonder if this is how Britain looked, during the peak chaos of Brexit.
It reveals some very deep problems with the political culture. The EU risks turning itself into a parody of the things Brexiteers said it was.
So, William. You were an arch Remainer IIRC. Yet now your posts are (all credit to you) very critical of the EU. When did the picture start changing for you?
Genuine question, not trying to make snide points scoring.
The story I heard was the EU "Ambassador" to Australia tried to "order" the Australian government to block the UK application. On the grounds that the UK was is the EU "sphere of influence". The comment was made that it reminded people of how the Chinese talk.
Has this "Ambassador" never met an Australian before? As a rule our Aussie friends don't like being told what to do.
The comment, third hand, was from a UK friend who moved Down Under and now works in the government.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I think the EU would rather bend over backwards for the devil than try and accommodate the UK.
Indeed. One of the reasons I've reversed my position on this is because one of our guys who deals with EU based investment and has got very, very good political sources in Europe said that the people he knows are shocked that the UK isn't co-ordinating anything except the TCA with the EU and is instead acting completely independently of them. They expected the UK to continue to co-operate with the EU for external trade and to side with the EU at the WTO, UN and other international organisations automatically. That we haven't done those things has been a really, really big shock to the system for them and he says it's ramped up their jilted ex feelings more than before.
There was a lot of smugness about how the negotiations has asserted EU "hegemony" in Europe, so it's come as a shock for the reality to be revealed as somewhat different.
The former UK correspondent for Le Monde, Marc Roche, wrote a book called "Brexit will succeed" in which he argued that Brexit shouldn't be judged on the negotiations, and so far that judgement has been proven correct.
Cases essentially flat while testing still well up.
POSITIVE TESTS
These will turn upwards in the next few days, and we'll be hearing a lot from the Zero Covid psychopaths, who wilfully conflate cases with positive tests.
The next week will be interesting on the case numbers. This week will start comparing with the increased testing of last week which should help. On the other hand it has been a week since the kids went back to school. If things can stay fairly static then that is a good thing.
I think though that we are on the verge of cases no longer being a predictor of hospital admissions and deaths due to the vaccine. I think more important to keep an eye on those hospital admissions and we only need to be wary if there is any sign of an uptick. Hopefully the vaccines will prevent this.
On the EU. WTF. Seriously? Have they all collectively lost their minds?
The week on week LFT figures from schools ought to be a pretty sensitive test for any uptick in infection numbers, so long as we're comparing like with like.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
Angered more than saddened and shocked.
It makes me angry that there is a tool to defeat Covid that has been developed and they're undermining it while simultaneously increasing the odds of variants developing.
The government really should say no foreign holidays until they catch up, the EU just is not safe to visit. They're so far behind us its ridiculous.
I do honestly believe this is one instance (the whole vaccine issue not just the AZ idiocy at the moment) where I wish the European countries and the EU had proved me wrong and had shown how effectively they could work together to do something good.
No one, not Leaver or Remainer, should be celebrating the fact that people are dying because various European agencies and Governments are making a complete pigs ear of the vaccine rollout. All the more so because of the implications this has for the rest of the world who will be looking at the European issue in fear because it not only delays when they will get their vaccines but it undermines the whole concept of vaccination in the eyes of the uninformed.
Is it a disaster in terms of vaccine PR, and a complete and utter misapplication of the "precautionary principle".
Those hoping this won't affect anti-vaxxery around the world should not look at Twitter. Yes, it is only Twitter, but it is indicative. And what starts there spreads. It is full of alarmed Europeans saying "my granny just had AZ will she die?", which is not great for Europeans.
Worse there are lots of Africans saying we don't want this bad vaccine, we won't take it, Kenya wants Pfizer. And so on.
The cheap, user-friendly, not-for-profit vaccine that was meant to be the workhorse of the world has been comprehensively, and maybe successfully, trashed. This may delay worldwide recovery, in terms of health and economics, by months.
European politicians should never be forgiven their shameful role in this. It is, potentially, a global tragedy.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
The story I heard was the EU "Ambassador" to Australia tried to "order" the Australian government to block the UK application. On the grounds that the UK was is the EU "sphere of influence". The comment was made that it reminded people of how the Chinese talk.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I think the EU would rather bend over backwards for the devil than try and accommodate the UK.
Indeed. One of the reasons I've reversed my position on this is because one of our guys who deals with EU based investment and has got very, very good political sources in Europe said that the people he knows are shocked that the UK isn't co-ordinating anything except the TCA with the EU and is instead acting completely independently of them. They expected the UK to continue to co-operate with the EU for external trade and to side with the EU at the WTO, UN and other international organisations automatically. That we haven't done those things has been a really, really big shock to the system for them and he says it's ramped up their jilted ex feelings more than before.
I come at this from a very different angle than you, as you know, but it seems to me also that the EU's apparent expectations on that score were extremely unrealistic.
Some degree of coordination/consultation would not be unreasonable, but they appear to have expected us to entirely subcontract our trade policy to them.
Agreed, I think one of the problems the EU has is that within Europe the non-EU countries do co-ordinate a lot of stuff with the EU and the EU keeps most of them on a fairly tight leash with forced standards alignment either by single market membership (Norway) or with treaty obligations (Switzerland) that limit the ability of these nations to have a properly independent trade policy. The UK has, with the TCA, managed to extricate itself from all of these obligations while maintaining a very high level of access for goods trade that it can choose to dilute at a time which suits it. Again, looking at the level of pedantry at the border with ham sandwich confiscation it shows a huge amount of insecurity in what they've agreed with us.
Their worst fear is a hugely successful UK sitting just off their border making EU members, specifically the net contributors, wonder what the EU is actually useful for. This vaccine fiasco has surely not helped at all.
Guys, I know you're all getting excited, and I agree that this is a major clusterfuck which will cost many lives, but it isn't actually anything to do with the EU. The EMA is the body being sensible here. It is individual states, some in the EU but some outside the EU, who are acting irrationally. And it's mostly not politicians, either.
I wonder if the EU will start asking for vaccination passports and insist that the vaccine used is recorded.
They could and I'm sure member states like Greece and Spain will be thrilled that hundreds of thousand of British tourists won't be coming after all......
I've had a disturbing thought. If the number of deaths actually caused by Covid declines faster than the number of cases then the proportion of deaths from other causes counted as Covid caused (because test was positive within 30 days) will increase thereby masking the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Yes, it will under that definition.
But: (a) You're assuming all/many of those cases are picked up. Most of the elderly (which will be the vast majority of those dying from other causes within 30 days) won't be having routine tests, so they'll only get tested if symptomatic (might not be the case in care homes - routine there?). The vaccines are, as far as we know from the trials, really quite effective at stopping symptoms (b) This will start to become fairly obvious in the death certificate (although they might be skewed if Covid is mentioned at all - does that count, rather than underlying cause?) and particularly in the excess death data (c) We'll still see effects in hospitalisations, ICU - most of those are not for people who are likely to die within 30 days of other causes
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
Ditto. I'm a Leaver, and I confess, at first, I took some naughty pleasure in the EU comprehensively custard-pieing itself, again and again. The sudden imposition of a new Irish border, without asking Ireland, was my favourite moment. It was impossible not to feel schadenfreude after so many years of the EU, and its Remainer allies, sneering at UK incompetence (often justifiably, if somewhat overdone).
However this is now way beyond that. I am a European, this is my continent and my civilisation, I have friends, family and many acquaintances across the Channel. The ludicrous behaviour by Brussels and EU capitals endangers their lives, endangers economies, menaces future UK/EU relations (and EU relations elsewhere: see Australia), it also weakens the West - further and again - at a crucial time.
So now I just feel sadness. And alarm.
it's like seeing a respected if slightly irritating relative take up Ketamine and develop incontinence. I also wonder if this is how Britain looked, during the peak chaos of Brexit.
It reveals some very deep problems with the political culture. The EU risks turning itself into a parody of the things Brexiteers said it was.
I'm starting to wonder if it ends with all the European treaties being rewritten, even if it takes us another 5-10 years to get there.
Sigh. My wife has been having a problem with a kidney stone. She has just been told to come into hospital tonight so they can operate tomorrow. She was due to finally get her vaccination on Thursday. Roughly 2/3 of all Scottish infections have come through hospitals.
At 60 she really should have been vaccinated weeks ago so that she would have some protection. I am not happy. Not at all.
Jedward, bless em, seem to have joined the brigade of blue ticks posting nonsense for likes and retweets. Mind you, as Irishmen, they have no reason to like Churchill.
Regarding things that 'have no place in our society' I fear they may be projecting.
£2.8 million quid and the chairs still look like they were nicked from a primary school.
Last thing that ANY government press secretary (for ANY government) wants, is for the press to be all comfy & cosy while interrogating said spin doctor.
Make the 4th estate fidget and think of their soft bottoms, make them eager to get the whole thing over & done ASAP.
Common sense, really. A rare example of THAT from THIS government.
They aren't temporary though. The deal signed doesn't work and won't work as it requires either an intra-Irish border or an intra-UK border. The Tories tried to pretend the intra-UK border they had agreed to didn't exist, have now had to face reality and politically its a non-starter. So they're pulling the plug and won't be able to restart it.
This is politics. Another way of looking at it is that everyone knows perfectly well that there is no solution to Brexit in the Ireland context without current absolute red lines being shifted, and there is a tussle going on, in which all sides are complicit and guilty of evasiveness as to which red lines will shift and when.
The weakest hand (I think) is held by the NI unionists, who in the form of the DUP have not played it well either.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I think the EU would rather bend over backwards for the devil than try and accommodate the UK.
Indeed. One of the reasons I've reversed my position on this is because one of our guys who deals with EU based investment and has got very, very good political sources in Europe said that the people he knows are shocked that the UK isn't co-ordinating anything except the TCA with the EU and is instead acting completely independently of them. They expected the UK to continue to co-operate with the EU for external trade and to side with the EU at the WTO, UN and other international organisations automatically. That we haven't done those things has been a really, really big shock to the system for them and he says it's ramped up their jilted ex feelings more than before.
And, we will - where our interests align.
The UK has a special relationship with the USA, very much as the junior partner. But, that isn't built on total obedience and, if it was, we wouldn't have a special relationship.
I suspect that I'm not the only Remainer who is deeply saddened and shocked by the antics of our continental friends over the past weeks.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
I was always a remain voter without much love for the institution but I live in Spain so there were practical considerations. Have to say now if there was a vote tomorrow I'm no longer sure how I'd vote.
I think Richard N demonstrated one issue a few days ago.
If we were still in Europe, the failure of the vaccine programme would have been touted as a defeat for 'more Europe' and vice versa - every EU success would be tinged with the threat of the EU doing more.
This is obviously backwards, and not, I suggest, particularly morally compelling when such failures cost lives. We should be able to urge on the EU to do better without fear it undermines British sensibilities.
This is a fascinating video that contains info on how bent Hollywood is when it comes to this kind of set building, costume hire....
ttps://youtu.be/hm4y8uqfu7I
Hollywood Accounting is hillarious. A movie that costs £20m to make actually ‘costs’ £100m to make, and even if it takes £1bn at the box office it still doesn’t turn a ‘profit’.
Some excellent points, as ever - but again, written at such length it loses impact. A shame.
I see you haven't entirely escaped the malign influence of Twitter. In this case on your attention span.
Possibly some truth in that. In fact I believe this is scientifically proven: human attention spans have shortened with the advent of the Net.
On the other hand lockdown has got me back reading long books, day in day out, a good habit I had lost.
I just don't want to read long books on PB.
Long books? Try "Underworld" by Don DeLillo. Post-war USA in the form of an 800-page novel. Nearly finished it, and will feel bereft when I have. Utterly compelling. Starts with an extraordinary evocation of the 1951 baseball match when Bobby Thomson hit the "shot that was heard round the world." Tremendous vignettes featuring the likes of J Edgar Hoover and Lenny Bruce. Reading it is the best thing I've done since lockdown commenced - along with discovering Miles Davis (and me a confirmed jazz-hater, or so I thought).
I second that. Underworld is long and takes some commitment, over wordy at times. Deeply satisfying though. I, too, dislike jazz. But make an exception for Miles.
Sigh. My wife has been having a problem with a kidney stone. She has just been told to come into hospital tonight so they can operate tomorrow. She was due to finally get her vaccination on Thursday. Roughly 2/3 of all Scottish infections have come through hospitals.
At 60 she really should have been vaccinated weeks ago so that she would have some protection. I am not happy. Not at all.
Is there anything to stop you getting an appointment in England? Down here you just log on to the website, give your NHS number, and off you go. No waiting for "letters". And your wife and you would have been jabbed last week, your wife indeed several weeks before that
£2.8 million quid and the chairs still look like they were nicked from a primary school.
Last thing that ANY government press secretary (for ANY government) wants, is for the press to be all comfy & cosy while interrogating said spin doctor.
Make the 4th estate fidget and think of their soft bottoms, make them eager to get the whole thing over & done ASAP.
Common sense, really. A rare example of THAT from THIS government.
I though the 2.8 million was for the command centre/replacement for the cabinet room.
Other than us, how many developed countries - outside of the EU - are actually using AstraZeneca today?
I can think of one: Canada.
Who else?
Is everyone in BioNTech's pocket?
They do have super, duper, humungously deep pockets.
Also, excluding the UK and EU from "developed" countries doesn't leave all that many. It's really just the US, Australia, NZ, Japan and S Korea who aren't. The latter three don't have anything like as much of a pressing need as most of the EU - and the US has lots of home grown options.
And yet the real world data from the UK is absolutely first rate, the issue here is absolutely a political one rather than medical. Politicians of Europe have decided that AZ delivering to Brexit Britain as a priority and not the EU is beyond the pale and are now trying to "suffocate" AZ and it's business. Obviously it's not going to work because there isn't anything wrong with the vaccine and all they're really doing is harming their own people and economies. Still, it's about what I've come to expect from them.
If all they were doing was harming their own, it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
They’re also badly undermining Covax and the global effort to get the world vaccinated, thus prolonging the pandemic everywhere by months if not years, at a cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
I don't know if it will have any real effect. So far there doesn't seem to be any uptick in vaccine hesitancy outside of Europe. One thing about the majority of European media not being in English is that the stories don't spread as quickly or widely in Africa and Asia, it's an inbuilt firewall against this stuff. I also think having the Oxford University name attached to it as well as continued unquestioning support from the WHO will ultimately be worth more than what's happening in Europe.
I think most people look at the shitfest in Europe and recognise it as something isolated to the EU.
I'm slightly worried that it might somehow spill over and affect the COVAX rollout. The EU has been desperately trying to claim the credit for it, with their diplomats even suggesting that AZ vaccines delivered from South Korea had come from the EU. It's scandalous.
Honestly, I just find it all a bit sad. This all stems from the EU continuing to act like a jilted ex. As I said yesterday, a few weeks ago I heard rumours that the EU had effectively threatened to cut off trade talks with Australia if the UK joined the CPTPP, I didn't believe it at the time as it just seemed ridiculous. Now I'm inclined to believe it. All of their actions are driven by their absolute refusal to accept the the UK has left and is now acting completely independently of them. The unnecessary border pedantry, the inability to accept that the UK contract with AZ is written better than the EU one, the threats over financial equivalence despite the UK having stronger financial regulations than what is required under equivalence rules.
I'd now say it's odds on that the EU is taking their grievances against the UK outside of Europe and giving countries a "them or us" choice.
I think the EU would rather bend over backwards for the devil than try and accommodate the UK.
Indeed. One of the reasons I've reversed my position on this is because one of our guys who deals with EU based investment and has got very, very good political sources in Europe said that the people he knows are shocked that the UK isn't co-ordinating anything except the TCA with the EU and is instead acting completely independently of them. They expected the UK to continue to co-operate with the EU for external trade and to side with the EU at the WTO, UN and other international organisations automatically. That we haven't done those things has been a really, really big shock to the system for them and he says it's ramped up their jilted ex feelings more than before.
There was a lot of smugness about how the negotiations has asserted EU "hegemony" in Europe, so it's come as a shock for the reality to be revealed as somewhat different.
The former UK correspondent for Le Monde, Marc Roche, wrote a book called "Brexit will succeed" in which he argued that Brexit shouldn't be judged on the negotiations, and so far that judgement has been proven correct.
That smugness must have come from people who didn't bother reading the TCA summary then, the EU handed the UK a mechanism diverge from EU standards and rather than binding the UK to EU standards they recognised that the UK won't automatically follow any new standards coming from the EU and can do so without penalty. The only thing the EU has really gained is the ability to use border pedantry on food/fish and making tourists queue up with RoW citizens. Even the financial equivalence stuff won't work out as they expect it, the government is making really good moves on listing rules, especially wrt secondary listings so we may end up in a place where EU companies that want to be part of the London one stop shop simply place a secondary listing on the LSE.
Sigh. My wife has been having a problem with a kidney stone. She has just been told to come into hospital tonight so they can operate tomorrow. She was due to finally get her vaccination on Thursday. Roughly 2/3 of all Scottish infections have come through hospitals.
At 60 she really should have been vaccinated weeks ago so that she would have some protection. I am not happy. Not at all.
Is there anything to stop you getting an appointment in England? Down here you just log on to the website, give your NHS number, and off you go. No waiting for "letters". And your wife and you would have been jabbed last week, your wife indeed several weeks before that
I should probably have tried that because this has been coming. Too late now to get any protection unfortunately.
Sigh. My wife has been having a problem with a kidney stone. She has just been told to come into hospital tonight so they can operate tomorrow. She was due to finally get her vaccination on Thursday. Roughly 2/3 of all Scottish infections have come through hospitals.
At 60 she really should have been vaccinated weeks ago so that she would have some protection. I am not happy. Not at all.
That must be very frustrating. Best of luck to you both.
Guys, I know you're all getting excited, and I agree that this is a major clusterfuck which will cost many lives, but it isn't actually anything to do with the EU. The EMA is the body being sensible here. It is individual states, some in the EU but some outside the EU, who are acting irrationally. And it's mostly not politicians, either.
I wonder if the EU will start asking for vaccination passports and insist that the vaccine used is recorded.
If they want to add their tourist industry to their growing list of casualties so be it
You start to wonder if Turkey (which rolled out its tourism minister on the breakfast news this morning to announce an open door policy for UK visitors) has seen something like this coming. If some nutters in the EU are preparing to use this as an excuse to lock us out then Ankara will have a huge captive market to tap in to. It'll be a bonanza for them.
One assumes at this point that common sense will assert itself eventually, but then again other European states are not behaving as rational actors at the moment.
Meanwhile, in Sensibleland:
UK experts say there will be a big increase in the number of people being offered Covid vaccinations in the coming days.
The number of shots given is expected to top 4 million this week, nearly double what has been achieved per week recently, NHS sources say.
It should mean all over 50s will have been given at least one dose by the end of the month.
That would put the NHS rollout two weeks ahead of schedule.
The increase has been made possible by a large shipment of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute in India, which has arrived and passed safety checks.
Comments
One lesson I think the UK side have learnt from the international law incident is to do what Europe do - act how you want while insisting absolutely unequivocally your actions are legal and proper. Don't give an inch.
The EU can start years of dispute resolution if they want, or they can resolve it amicably by negotiating with us. That's how nations operate.
That said, I respect that many Leavers will also be saddened and shocked by it.
In a weird way, the vax programme has done more to unite Leavers and Remainers in the UK than any politician has achieved. Funny old world.
https://twitter.com/fact_covid/status/1371493788980502529?s=20
https://twitter.com/fact_covid/status/1371493842269171720?s=20
Cases essentially flat while testing still well up.
Clusterfick.
Has the advantage of giving high blood pressure to the Academie Francaise.
The French are still keeping this bit of Franglais out: baise en cluster .
Do I have a leaning towards the AZ vaccine or SputnikV vaccine?
AZ may have screwed up some trials and data.
SputnikV is smothered in compelling data from trials and use. Compelling in what way is the question.
Think I may put my trust in the Clots at AZ who messed up the trials a bit.
It makes me angry that there is a tool to defeat Covid that has been developed and they're undermining it while simultaneously increasing the odds of variants developing.
The government really should say no foreign holidays until they catch up, the EU just is not safe to visit. They're so far behind us its ridiculous.
These will turn upwards in the next few days, and we'll be hearing a lot from the Zero Covid psychopaths, who wilfully conflate cases with positive tests.
Again, I am in agreement that what is being done is madness. But our case is stronger if our figures are realistic and defensible. Even if it is only one life saved per day pre 100k vaccinations, that is a strong point. No need to put the case on shaky ground by claiming it is 15
Don't forget that over 1/2000 are getting infected daily too since not all cases are caught by a longshot there.
https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/1371495830205661191
https://twitter.com/fact_covid/status/1371495518803795980?s=20
However this is now way beyond that. I am a European, this is my continent and my civilisation, I have friends, family and many acquaintances across the Channel. The ludicrous behaviour by Brussels and EU capitals endangers their lives, endangers economies, menaces future UK/EU relations (and EU relations elsewhere: see Australia), it also weakens the West - further and again - at a crucial time.
So now I just feel sadness. And alarm.
it's like seeing a respected if slightly irritating relative take up Ketamine and develop incontinence. I also wonder if this is how Britain looked, during the peak chaos of Brexit.
Most of them also think the UK was crazy in Brexiting/in the Brexit negotiations.
It is possible to hold both positions (and for both positions to be true - I know we all disagree on the second, but we can mostly agree on the first, I think).
I think though that we are on the verge of cases no longer being a predictor of hospital admissions and deaths due to the vaccine. I think more important to keep an eye on those hospital admissions and we only need to be wary if there is any sign of an uptick. Hopefully the vaccines will prevent this.
On the EU. WTF. Seriously? Have they all collectively lost their minds?
https://youtu.be/hm4y8uqfu7I
The UK has signed up to legally binding agreements and will be expected to follow them. I suggest that the government gets over it.
https://twitter.com/Cox_A_R/status/1371479900838838281
https://twitter.com/Cox_A_R/status/1371486701521149959
No one, not Leaver or Remainer, should be celebrating the fact that people are dying because various European agencies and Governments are making a complete pigs ear of the vaccine rollout. All the more so because of the implications this has for the rest of the world who will be looking at the European issue in fear because it not only delays when they will get their vaccines but it undermines the whole concept of vaccination in the eyes of the uninformed.
But only AZ is attacked, suspended, seized, impounded and smeared.
You really expect us to believe this has NOTHING to do with the EU's huge falling out with AZ a month back (which they tried to turn into a EU/UK battle, but we refused to give them the pleasure)? Really? You're honestly expecting us to believe that?
Your commentary on EU matters has gone from biased but well informed to biased and a bit stupid.
Some degree of coordination/consultation would not be unreasonable, but they appear to have expected us to entirely subcontract our trade policy to them.
The EU seems to have decided that they should behave as if Nigel Farage & Donald Trump were right. Which is batshit insane.
Genuine question, not trying to make snide points scoring.
I know - borders on the insane.
The former UK correspondent for Le Monde, Marc Roche, wrote a book called "Brexit will succeed" in which he argued that Brexit shouldn't be judged on the negotiations, and so far that judgement has been proven correct.
Worse there are lots of Africans saying we don't want this bad vaccine, we won't take it, Kenya wants Pfizer. And so on.
The cheap, user-friendly, not-for-profit vaccine that was meant to be the workhorse of the world has been comprehensively, and maybe successfully, trashed. This may delay worldwide recovery, in terms of health and economics, by months.
European politicians should never be forgiven their shameful role in this. It is, potentially, a global tragedy.
https://twitter.com/yaw_nanah/status/1371499488846741513?s=20
Their worst fear is a hugely successful UK sitting just off their border making EU members, specifically the net contributors, wonder what the EU is actually useful for. This vaccine fiasco has surely not helped at all.
https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1371455388005117953
https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1371502189819101186
But:
(a) You're assuming all/many of those cases are picked up. Most of the elderly (which will be the vast majority of those dying from other causes within 30 days) won't be having routine tests, so they'll only get tested if symptomatic (might not be the case in care homes - routine there?). The vaccines are, as far as we know from the trials, really quite effective at stopping symptoms
(b) This will start to become fairly obvious in the death certificate (although they might be skewed if Covid is mentioned at all - does that count, rather than underlying cause?) and particularly in the excess death data
(c) We'll still see effects in hospitalisations, ICU - most of those are not for people who are likely to die within 30 days of other causes
https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1371494525168943110
At 60 she really should have been vaccinated weeks ago so that she would have some protection. I am not happy. Not at all.
Make the 4th estate fidget and think of their soft bottoms, make them eager to get the whole thing over & done ASAP.
Common sense, really. A rare example of THAT from THIS government.
The weakest hand (I think) is held by the NI unionists, who in the form of the DUP have not played it well either.
The UK has a special relationship with the USA, very much as the junior partner. But, that isn't built on total obedience and, if it was, we wouldn't have a special relationship.
If we were still in Europe, the failure of the vaccine programme would have been touted as a defeat for 'more Europe' and vice versa - every EU success would be tinged with the threat of the EU doing more.
This is obviously backwards, and not, I suggest, particularly morally compelling when such failures cost lives. We should be able to urge on the EU to do better without fear it undermines British sensibilities.
Carrie took one look at the workmanship and decided to use someone else.
I, too, dislike jazz. But make an exception for Miles.
They have very independent.. investigating judges? Is that a good description.
This means that for hunting down the truth with corrupt governments, something happens.
The flip side is that maverick judges can really, really do some crazy shit.
This is the press briefing room.
One assumes at this point that common sense will assert itself eventually, but then again other European states are not behaving as rational actors at the moment.
Meanwhile, in Sensibleland:
UK experts say there will be a big increase in the number of people being offered Covid vaccinations in the coming days.
The number of shots given is expected to top 4 million this week, nearly double what has been achieved per week recently, NHS sources say.
It should mean all over 50s will have been given at least one dose by the end of the month.
That would put the NHS rollout two weeks ahead of schedule.
The increase has been made possible by a large shipment of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute in India, which has arrived and passed safety checks.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56407251