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THREAD I was really excited about the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine at the start, mainly because of commitment from the Oxford group to sell the vaccine at close to cost to developed countries and at actual cost to poorer countries. Of course, I hadn't anticipated ... 1/5
the complete hash they made of the trials, but aside from that the information that has come out of their spat with the EU is depressing in the extreme.
Firstly, the UK has paid seven times what the EU paid for the vaccine. This is primarily because Johnson... 2/5
Firstly, the UK has paid seven times what the EU paid for the vaccine. This is primarily because Johnson... 2/5
rejected the EU's offer to pool purchasing power and indicated (if we needed further proof) of the complete incompetence of the UK government. But it also goes some way to explaining why AZ is so anxious to supply the UK at the expense of the much more powerful EU...3/5
As if that weren't enough, AZ is also charging South Africa five times what it is charging the EU.
The whole thing simply confirms me in my belief that ALL vaccines should be in public ownership. It wouldn't be hard for the research (which is often conducted by publicly... 4/5
The whole thing simply confirms me in my belief that ALL vaccines should be in public ownership. It wouldn't be hard for the research (which is often conducted by publicly... 4/5
funded institutes) to be funded publicly and for governments to contract manufacturers to produce the volume required. If all countries had access to vaccines (such as the famous Salk vaccine for polio, for example) then vaccines could be produced locally at local prices. END 5/5
