1./ Could the vaccine race become a vaccine war? Since demand so outstrips supply there was always a chance. Now the German health minister suggests exports of vaccines made in Germany should be licensed. Code for we could block exports to the UK. p.dw.com/p/3oORe?maca=e…
2./ His frustration is understandable but Spahn is playing with fire. When he went behind the EU Commission's back to purchase more vaccines, Italy promptly accused him of stealing from the rest of the EU. That's nothing to what this could unleash. theweek.co.uk/951628/germany…
3./ Spahn is trying to remedy a monumental EU screw up. And he's been a force for good. In December he insisted the European Medical Agency just hurry up and license the Pfizer vaccine....which just happens to be manufactured in Germany. Well done him. theguardian.com/society/2020/d…
4./ Ugur Sahin, the German co-founder of BioNTech, Pfizer's partner also railed against the arrogance and complacency of the EU Commission which ordered too many of the wrong vaccines and too few of the successful ones; and all of them too late. theguardian.com/world/2021/jan…
5./ But the sad fact is there is a genuine shortage of these products. None of the approved Western vaccines have been manufactured at this sort of industrial scale before, and the supply chain is extended and has inevitable bottlenecks. wsj.com/articles/if-on…
6./ The resulting shortage of vaccines means all countries are now using them to advance their diplomatic agenda. The arrival of Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine, in Argentina was celebrated in Russia as a medical coup for its controversial vaccine.
7./ China too has been assiduous in promoting its vaccines, which were distributed even before trials were complete. Its officially controlled state media has even taken to spreading conspiracy theories about the safety of Western produced vaccines. nytimes.com/2021/01/25/bus…
8./ On a positive note, the diplomatic bonds between Britain and India helped fast-track the deal by @adarpoonawalla and @SerumInstIndia India's vast vaccine manufacturer to produce billions of doses of the Oxford vaccine for India and the world. 👇
https://twitter.com/adarpoonawalla/status/1346005369554935809?s=20
9./ And while India appeared briefly to renege on its commitment to export the vaccine the latest news is exports will start..."within weeks". Tensions like this all point to a bigger uncomfortable truth. An economic one. bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…
10./ For decades Western nations allowed "strategic"manufacturing to be outsourced, be it microchips, PPE or vaccines. COVID reminds us in a crisis nothing beats a factory of your own. The UK is effectively now building 3 different vaccine plants. gov.uk/government/new…
11./ The EU has long championed Western style globalisation. If it acts on its threats to impound vaccine exports it won't just undermine trust in free markets. It could deliver globalisation a fatal blow; in more ways than one.
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