OK. Forgive the thread.

Remember @AstraZeneca, the UK company that mysteriously lied about its contract with @EU_Commission, @vonderleyen & @SKyriakidesEU?

At the same time they said EU must get 30m not 80/100m doses they offered vax directly to 4 member states @ higher price. https://twitter.com/Panda_Chronicle/status/1360655103359909890

That's according to Czech PM @AndreBabis 11 Feb 2021. https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/four-eu-leaders-were-offered-separate-deals-with-astrazeneca/

Now we all remember how @nadhimzahawi was curiously well-poised on how to frame this when the story broke. I mean the pseudo-story, of course, how poor little AZ was doing its best & horrid old EU was doing vaccine nationalism. We remember how UK press jumped to frame the issue,

. @Peston 's propaganda thread on here purely from unnamed AZ source, the trolls poised to strike immediately at every twist as if they'd been paid and briefed.

How AZ lied about the contract, totally misrepresenting the best efforts clause, pretending signature date mattered

more than the actual undertakings in the contract.

We remember how UK govt milked its PR exercise 1 dose strategy & early approval to get high topline figure for vaccinations. How early approval & prioritising elderly meant many were given AZ, while EMA's more careful approach

led EU states to restrict AZ to younger people. So that we risk having elderly pseudo-protected for political purposes.

How EU's been blamed, when rollout is for member states & fulfilling legal obligations is for all, even for health capitalists.

Is there a risk that AZ (on behalf of which UK govt lobbied Bolsonaro) and UK Govt are in cahoots to profit from health emergency & destabilise EU?

@guyverhofstadt @carolecadwalla @FactCheck @C4Dispatches @jonsnowC4 @krishgm @peterjukes @mikegalsworthy @ThatTimWalker