Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

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Looking more like vaccines from manufacturers in the EU will be prevented from being delivered to the UK (and perhaps other places):

The head of the European commission, Ursula von der Leyen, threatened on Wednesday to ban exports of vaccines to safeguard scarce doses for its own citizens facing a third wave of the pandemic.

At a meeting of EU diplomats that took place shortly after von der Leyen’s warning, Germany, Italy, France and Denmark supported the commission’s stance on a tougher application of export controls, three diplomats and officials who attended the meeting or were briefed about it, said.

The Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland were more cautious, two of the officials said, adding a discussion on the matter will be held at a summit of EU leaders next week. “It’s all stemming from a growing frustration with AstraZeneca and being under increased pressure to do something about it. We don’t have enough vaccines, we export like crazy without getting anything,” said one of the diplomats who participated in the discussions.

I think vaccines should get to those who need them most. It's a shame this is being framed as vaccine inequality at a national level, however, with the UK being highlighted as some sort of pariah. I know it's all political, but it's disappointing.

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atz in reply to @

I think vaccines should get to those who need them most. It's a shame this is being framed as vaccine inequality at a national level, however, with the UK being highlighted as some sort of pariah. I know it's all political, but it's disappointing.

The pressure on EU nation governments is VERY high. The EU wrote a stupid contract and the politicians are feeling the pressure for it. The UK is the most obvious close place that didn't mess up buying vaccines and on a national level, nobody is blaming the British, just our own ineffectual governments.

In general though, when you consider some EU nations are struggling to even complete the most at-risk and key workers, I think export controls (not outright bans) are reasonable.

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in reply to @atz

nobody is blaming the British, just our own ineffectual governments.

I don't think that distinction is as clear as you're making it out to be. I don't have the time or desire to do it, but there must be a list of things which the EU/EU member states have said about the UK's rollout. I don't think you'll find much distinction between the government and "The British" in those claims. And even when it may be there, that's not how it'll picked up in popular discourse.

Nationalism is dumb (and dangerous), and it exists just as much in the EU as here.

In general though, when you consider some EU nations are struggling to even complete the most at-risk and key workers, I think export controls (not outright bans) are reasonable.

No disagreement from me on that point.

But again, it's framed as "The UK has received xxx million doses from us" (whatever "us" means in the context of private companies) "and that's not fair." Instead, it should be: "we are in the middle of a pandemic and need to make decisions where the well-being of EU citizens will be increased, without risking the well-being of our neighbours."

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