Which is strange as they are the world leaders when it comes to producing pharmaceuticals aren’t they? Something I didn’t know until this pandemic....
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I have a few vulnerable family members, so I really hope that The Government pulls this off.
However, I'm going to predict that in a couple of weeks they will be saying that comparing the numbers of vaccines administered in different countries isn't a valid means of judging The Government's performance.
Just a hunch!
It fascinates me that it seems a rarity for people to try and have an global overview of current events and it's often as if Blighty exists in a bubble - and it can be very difficult to judge some complex matters at the best of times if we aren't political dogmatists.
However, and at the risk of stating the obvious, it seems that the UK has been dire in respect to the virus in general but ahead of many comparable countries in sourcing and delivering the vaccines.
Hardly shocking news, I know.
You are right it shouldn't really be an us or them but I do seem to recall the Government being criticised in the summer for not joining the EU vaccination program which it could have done. The same was true of the Europe wide PPE and ventilator programs.
As far as I can tell not joining those programs hasn't mattered one bit. In fact in the case of the vaccine it seems to have been an advantage ( up to now, could change of course) as we could start our vaccinations before Europe did.
Here's a recent link from the BBC which provides some information. mainly on the vaccine but there is some limited information on progress on the other schemes at the end.
Not just Johnston who makes it political (not disagreeing at all that he does)
1.3 million vaccines in the UK as a whole so far.
Another update due today.
Daily updates from next Monday (11th)
According to ITV.Com
Isn't this a metaphor for Brexit*? The UK can now act more quickly than a massive trading block but ended up paying more for the vaccines.
New Zealand is donating (not sure if correct word but gives accurate enough impression) vaccines to neighbouring islands. The UK can vaccine everyone it wants to but can't escape the risk that if insufficient vaccines go to those who have been slower/less able to resource them then the virus mutates beyond the coverage of the existing vaccine and comes back here.
*drink
Scientific contribution (developing a vaccine and identifying drugs to be used as part of treatments) will definitely be seen as positive part of UK response though with good amount of credit going to Boris etc.
Sorry forgot the BBC link about the EU Vaccine scheme in my earlier post
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52380823
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This seems to be the position in the extract below from an article written by a German:
"The sclerotic and sluggish EU machine has, unforgivably, botched the roll-out of the vaccines, and the consequences are likely to prove fatal to many thousands of our citizens........................................
My home country of Germany had, by Tuesday, vaccinated some 317,000 people — by far the most of the EU27.
Yet what a bitter irony it is that we who were crucial to the development and manufacturing of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab — BioNTech is a start-up based outside Frankfurt — must now watch lorry loads of supplies travelling to Britain while our own roll-out is beset by delay, uncertainty and fears about future supply.
Our health minister has warned that Germany will not be vaccinating at Britain’s rate until at least the summer, thanks to distribution problems and the EU’s ill-considered ‘cap’ on the number of doses that can be distributed to the various member states."
You make some good points there. I agree a few large pharmacy hubs would be a good idea in order to reduce potential waste and guarantee continuity of supply for the second dose. I suppose the downside is that by definition there would not be many such centres so maybe not too local for elderly folk. As I said earlier I really don't know how a pharmacist in your local independent or small chain pharmacy would have the time or the facilities to get involved in the vaccination scheme on top of their normal "day job"!
Re vials/stoppers/caps - Pfizer will also be dependent on third party manufacturers for the supply of these too, although they may have greater commercial "clout" I suppose. I do wonder if we might see shortages of other injectable products that require 10 ml or 20 vials?
Schools shut until half term, what a surprise....wonder when all governments will back down and vaccinate teachers. No brainier
The Guardian’s rolling coverage is reporting that there’s been a study which suggests that the Oxford vaccine will be effective against the British and South African mutations.