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Dave Keating Profile picture
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9 Mar, 6 tweets, 3 min read
Why are people talking about a "de facto ban" on UK vaccine exports?

Because of what #AstraZeneca's CEO told Repubblica in January.

"The contract with the UK was signed first and the UK, of course, said 'you supply us first', and this is fair enough." repubblica.it/cronaca/2021/0…
Then it turned out AZ's contract with UK was signed one day *after* that with EU.

The CEO clarified to MEPs last month that he was referring to an arrangement between Oxford and the UK government which AZ inherited when it linked with Oxford in May 2020.
multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/joint-heari…
US has executive order saying Americans must have priority access to vaccine doses manufactured in US. Canada must get its doses from Belgium instead of next door in Michigan.

It appears the Oxford-UK agreement also mandates Brits get priority access to vaccines made in UK.
One (🇺🇸) is a legal order. The other (🇬🇧) is a private contract, we're told. But in the end, they have had the same effect.

The EU has exported millions of #Covid19 vaccine doses. The UK and US have exported zero.
UK has now summoned EU ambassador over @CharlesMichel's comment.

But when @vonderleyen said essentially the same thing, they had no reaction.

So the objection seems to be that Michel said "outright" ban instead of "de facto" ban.

Performative outrage?
Imagine the situation were reversed, and public funding to #BioNTech was conditional on EU citizens getting priority access to doses before any exports can happen.

It would mean zero Pfizer exports right now - a de facto EU ban. Imagine UK media reaction
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

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Dave Keating Profile picture
11 Mar
To those in UK still calling the EU's vaccine export transparency mechanism an "export ban": I don't think you'd like to know what a real EU export ban would look like.

A real EU ban would have meant 8 million fewer jabs in the UK last month. Three-quarters less vaccinations.
I've been hearing major anger from people in EU today who have just learned just how many Pfizer vaccine doses made in the EU have been exported to the UK, while AZ doses are not being sent from UK to EU.

Many asking if it's time for a real EU export ban.
I suspect these calls will grow louder if Johnson & Johnson doesn't meet its EU delivery schedule while still delivering to US.

The idea that J&J doses can be made in the EU and exported to Americans, but not vice-versa (because of US export ban) will be intolerable to people.
Read 4 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
10 Mar
Good piece by @MatinaStevis in NYT today detailing how EU is exporting millions of vaccines while US & UK are exporting none.

"While US kept doses for itself, the EU shipped 651,000 vaccines to US last month and made vaccines that immunized its neighbors"
nytimes.com/2021/03/10/wor…
Many are questioning why EU is exporting millions of doses to countries that will not return the favor, while struggling to vaccinate its own citizens.

German MEP Christian Ehler said this morning the EU expected US & UK to behave better. Was it naive?
Should Germany have had a 'Europe first' clause with BioNTech like apparently UK has with AstraZeneca and US has with Johnson & Johnson?

Ehler still believes no. "If we just think about our territory we might have a political benefit in the moment but that won't work for long".
Read 6 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
10 Mar
Here’s the trick: the UK hasn’t blocked a single vaccine export because there haven’t been any exports to block.

AstraZeneca’s CEO suggested to MEPs the Britain First clause UK put in Oxford contract prevents it from exporting doses until Brits are vaccinated.
In AstraZeneca's contract with the EU it list 4 facilities that will be used to fulfil delivery - 2 in the UK and 2 in the EU.

It appears all 4 have been used to supply UK. But only the 2 EU plants have been used to supply EU - no exports from UK. That's what the EU is mad about
Johnson and his ministers can't have it both ways here.

They can't on one hand brief journalists that their Hollywood-worthy Britain-first contract will block exports, then turn around and feign offence when that contract is called a de facto ban.
news.sky.com/story/covid-19…
Read 4 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
10 Mar
On this point, it is really noticeable that EU politicians are targeting the UK here more than the US - by far the worse culprit on vaccine nationalism.

Commission spokesman just asked if they've received any reassurances from Biden admin that ban will end. He wouldn't comment.
Asked about the German MEPs saying Commission is treating Biden with kid gloves on vaccines (and about the brewing problem over access to Johnson & Johnson doses), the spokesman points to the EU's new transparency mechanism.

"That in itself is a very strong signal" he says.
There is worry a J&J proxy war between 🇺🇸&🇪🇺 could start, similar to AZ proxy war between 🇬🇧&🇪🇺.

We hear J&J won't be ready to start delivering vaccines to EU after approval tomorrow, and maybe not until May.

EC won't say whether they've received guarantees for J&J Q2 delivery.
Read 5 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
10 Mar
Thread: MEPs supporting @eucopresident's comment on UK not exporting vaccines

"Politically Michel was right to point to the issue, but his wording was not precise" says @peterliese, health lead for EP's largest group

But should EU adopt same 'me me I'm first' approach as UK&US?
"We’re falling back into 19th century, this doesn't solve a pandemic," says EP industry committee chair Christian Ehler of "antagonistic" vaccine approach of US&UK

"If we just think about our territory we might have a political benefit in the moment but that won't work for long"
But EU politicians increasingly feel EU has been naive on vaccines.

Germany funded BioNTech like UK funded Oxford. Should Germany have insisted on a 'Europe First' provision like UK apparently has?

"Maybe EU has been a bit too optimistic on international cooperation"says Liese
Read 14 tweets
Dave Keating Profile picture
9 Mar
A UK government spokesperson has hit back against President Michel's comment that UK has a vaccine export ban.

"The UK government has not blocked the export of a single COVID-19 vaccine. Any references to a UK export ban or any restrictions on vaccines are completely false." Image
But here's the trick - UK hasn't blocked any export shipments because there are no shipments to block. UK has not exported any vaccines.

Why? AstraZeneca's CEO told MEPs last month that a Jan 2020 Oxford-UK agreement obliges UK plants to prioritise Brits.
We don't know if such a Britain First agreement between Oxford and the UK government exists, we've never been allowed to see this supposed agreement.

But the net effect is that AZ is not exporting doses made in the UK, as they said they would in their EU contract.
Read 4 tweets

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