covid-19

[Hazir]

After country after country in Europe has been gripped by temporary insanity (a few like Portugal, Belgium and Poland being sensible exceptions), with the EMA remaining sensible throughout, I see that von der Leyen has been unhappy at the national leaders being the ones to screw around so is now like "hold my stein".

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The UK and other countries aren't blocking exports of vaccines to Europe and Europe aren't sending vaccines to the UK etc. Companies within the UK and Europe are meeting their contractual obligations and countries like the UK are front of the queue because we paid more and invested earlier to get the vaccines. As we discussed months ago, though some here thought that spending more and signing contracts earlier wouldn't have an impact on rollout.

Now she's threatening to block exports, expropriate IP and worse all because her government fucked up negotiating contracts. The companies producing the vaccines will send them when they're produced and due in the list of contracts they've signed, that's how markets operate.

So much for Europe being a "rules based" organisation.

Actually none of the proposed actions are illegal. They are unusual, but well within the bounds of the rules. The EU has exported 35m doses, at a time where you have to ask if we can actually afford to do that.

Whatever the UK feels about that is irrelevant. Given that the US isn't really short on vaccins at all I doubt any export ban will register in the US.