It seems that the European Union is not happy with the Astra-Zeneca vaccine. They can't get enough of it. They don't think it is suitable for people over 65. They think the UK is being "selfish" keeping so many doses for itself. Apparently they also need to inspect the factories at which the vaccine is being made because of "production issues" and "supply problems".
At one point last year the researchers were actually working together.
They were sharing ideas, ongoing data, and the results. Other people thought finding a vaccine was going to be the answer to the problems the virus was causing. It isn't of course. My aunt worked at a university for many years. She lectured in the school of pharmacy. Vaccines are not her specialist field but she does know something about them, more than most people. She never looked on a vaccine as a magic bullet.
We will have to learn to live with the virus. When I am offered the opportunity I will, like my aunt, take advantage of the vaccine - as part protection. My hope is that, should I be unfortunate enough to become ill with the virus, vaccination will mean I won't die from the virus.
I am also aware that enough other people need to be vaccinated for me to be protected in another way. A good take up of the vaccine will make it much more difficult for the virus to spread rapidly and severely.
So yes, I want that jab. A lot of people want that jab. If there aren't enough doses of that jab then who should get it first and who should pay for it?
And that of course is the problem. Ideally we should all be close to the top of the queue for the jab. Paying for it is another issue. My income is not very high but if someone told me I had to pay for the jab I would willingly do so. It would be the responsible thing to do.
Why? Because it would also help to pay for someone else to have the jab, hopefully for it to go to someone who has no hope of affording it for themselves. We might not eradicate the virus but if we can vaccinate enough people we can perhaps learn to live with it. Vaccinating enough people means vaccinating billions, not millions. It means reaching everyone we possibly can - even in the parts of the world which are the most difficult to reach and where people are so poor they have no chance of paying for it themselves.
And this is what makes me so angry about the EU's stance right now. Yes, they have a problem. We all have a problem. The UK has a bigger problem than the EU. It is a tiny, overcrowded country that has taken in more than its fair share of migrants and refugees. The UK's scientists have researched and developed a vaccine. Now they are trying to produce it. That's not good enough for some in the EU though. They are now saying "don't give it to the over-65's" but they still want the number of doses they were promised.
I might be wrong but I can't help wondering whether this is just a ploy to get more doses for use in the EU.
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3 comments:
This attitude of the EU is precisely what I have been expecting of them. They were honour bound to seek and use any excuse to get their own back on us for having the temerity to say we didn't want to play with them any more. This is at about the level of primary school playground politics, and not so very different to the attitudes we had been living with for all the time we were bound to them.
And they have managed to produce a hard border in the island of Ireland in total defiance of the Good Friday Agreement....
Very interesting Cat. But take what you read about the EU with a pinch of salt. I suspect that the all powerful billionaires and newspaper owners who support our Prime Mendacitor may be muck-spreading to cast the blame elsewhere for the terrible state our country is now in. Not all of us lap it up and believe what they say. Hope you're keeping well.
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