All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Tami]

Yet, the US kept the vaccine for themselves. The EU sent vaccines to UK, Canada, the US but unfortunately it hasn't been reciprocal. There will be a lot to say when it's over. People are dying here (in the EU) too. So long for being allies, we're only allies when we fight your wars

There is an air flight adage I refer back to at times like this. It goes, before you place an oxygen mask on the person next to you, first you need to place the mask on yourself.

The US is in the process of placing the mask on, then it will take care of others.

[mogwen]

There is an air flight adage I refer back to at times like this. It goes, before you place an oxygen mask on the person next to you, first you need to place the mask on yourself.

The US is in the process of placing the mask on, then it will take care of others.

Yes, yet when the EU say they will block the vaccine from leaving the EU for like what 5 minutes, the EU is accused of shitting and being selfish. I've seen it here, on these threads. Funny how things that apply to us don't apply to you. The EU didn't mess in their Covid response, they played cooperation, but it seems cooperation is a one-way street.

[Gray Lensman]

There is an air flight adage I refer back to at times like this. It goes, before you place an oxygen mask on the person next to you, first you need to place the mask on yourself.

The US is in the process of placing the mask on, then it will take care of others.

That, and all those swing voters would vote Republican in 2022 if Biden sent vaccines abroad before everyone who wants one here has access. It's sad, but the long term health of the country requires not letting Trumpism get the reins on power again. Heck, Trump might stockpile vaccines in order to never send them anywhere out of sheer spite. Biden I at least see keeping production up in order to supply doses to the rest of the planet after the US turns the corner.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Half of Republicans believe false accounts of deadly U.S. Capitol riot-Reuters/Ipsos poll

[PwrdOn]

There is an air flight adage I refer back to at times like this. It goes, before you place an oxygen mask on the person next to you, first you need to place the mask on yourself.

The US is in the process of placing the mask on, then it will take care of others.

Yeah except in this case the US took all the masks for ourselves so that nobody else can get any, and is acting like everyone else in our position would do the same, when this is absolutely not the case.

[mogwen]

Yeah except in this case the US took all the masks for ourselves so that nobody else can get any, and is acting like everyone else in our position would do the same, when this is absolutely not the case.

Thank you for sharing facts. The truth is the US and UK played a very selfish game that we will remember. And seeing people here justifying it is heartbreking. I will remember that too. Here we have trouble getting access to vaccine, vaccines we funded and for some part produced. The damage to our relationship, especially when Biden says he wants more cooperation with Europe will be a lasting one. This behaviour shows how the US can't be trusted any longer. America first is America alone.

[Tami]

Thank you for sharing facts. The truth is the US and UK played a very selfish game that we will remember. And seeing people here justifying it is heartbreking. I will remember that too. Here we have trouble getting access to vaccine, vaccines we funded and for some part produced. The damage to our relationship, especially when Biden says he wants more cooperation with Europe will be a lasting one. This behaviour shows how the US can't be trusted any longer. America first is America alone.

I still haven't been vaccinated, my husband still hasn't been vaccinated, people I know haven't been vaccinated. From my perspective, the process is going too slow and the supply isn't getting out fast enough. if this country really were hoarding all of the vaccines, 90% of the population would be vaccinated by now.

edit: As I posted in the Vaccine thread after I posted this I received an email and was able to register to get a vaccine appointment. I still say that the Biden Administration is aware of the need to get vaccines to every country and is working on it.

[PwrdOn]

I still haven't been vaccinated, my husband still hasn't been vaccinated, people I know haven't been vaccinated. From my perspective, the process is going too slow and the supply isn't getting out fast enough. if this country really were hoarding all of the vaccines, 90% of the population would be vaccinated by now.

Yeah but it's exactly this kind of talk that makes Americans seem clueless to the rest of the world. Nearly 20% of the US population has been vaccinated by now, compared to less than 2% globally, and we are the only large country that is anywhere near the top of that list.

[mogwen]

I still haven't been vaccinated, my husband still hasn't been vaccinated, people I know haven't been vaccinated. From my perspective, the process is going too slow and the supply isn't getting out fast enough. if this country really were hoarding all of the vaccines, 90% of the population would be vaccinated by now.

Yes, from your perspective. But facts and numbers ignore perspective unfortunately. To be honest, this is a behaviour I expected from the Trump administration, not the Biden one, the supposed camp of good. So much for the higher moral ground. But, if it can comfort you, UK's behaviour has been worst.

[JackDaw]

Thank you for sharing facts. The truth is the US and UK played a very selfish game that we will remember. And seeing people here justifying it is heartbreking. I will remember that too. Here we have trouble getting access to vaccine, vaccines we funded and for some part produced. The damage to our relationship, especially when Biden says he wants more cooperation with Europe will be a lasting one. This behaviour shows how the US can't be trusted any longer. America first is America alone.

That graphic really doesn’t give a fair view of EU/UK relationship in COVID vaccines. Vaccines aren’t produced by the EU or UK governments, but by large multinational pharmaceutical companies.

For various reasons UK although it has a large pharmaceutical industry has concentrated on other things than large scale vaccine production.

Accordingly when it was clear large scale production would be needed UK government actually pumped money and help into concerns based in EU countries, and also pumped a lot of money into COVAX ( the international initiative to send vaccines to less rich countries).

So a chunk of those “EU exports” into UK and other countries were the result of capacity partly funded and created by UK.

Oh...and, of course, a lot of factories situated in EU producing the final vaccine are dependent on specialist materials sent over to them by the UK.

[numberthirty]

Thank you for sharing facts. The truth is the US and UK played a very selfish game that we will remember. And seeing people here justifying it is heartbreking. I will remember that too. Here we have trouble getting access to vaccine, vaccines we funded and for some part produced. The damage to our relationship, especially when Biden says he wants more cooperation with Europe will be a lasting one. This behaviour shows how the US can't be trusted any longer. America first is America alone.

I still haven't been vaccinated, my husband still hasn't been vaccinated, people I know haven't been vaccinated. From my perspective, the process is going too slow and the supply isn't getting out fast enough. if this country really were hoarding all of the vaccines, 90% of the population would be vaccinated by now.

Yeah but it's exactly this kind of talk that makes Americans seem clueless to the rest of the world. Nearly 20% of the US population has been vaccinated by now, compared to less than 2% globally, and we are the only large country that is anywhere near the top of that list.

Past this...

The United States is a country where a sizable amount of it population have just straight up said "Ain't Gonna Happen..." when it comes to getting vaccinated.

On this, it feels like the rest of the world has a fairly legitimate bone to pick.

[Malvolio]

Thank you for bringing the truth in here.

[Gray Lensman]

That graphic really doesn’t give a fair view of EU/UK relationship in COVID vaccines. Vaccines aren’t produced by the EU or UK governments, but by large multinational pharmaceutical companies.

For various reasons UK although it has a large pharmaceutical industry has concentrated on other things than large scale vaccine production.

Accordingly when it was clear large scale production would be needed UK government actually pumped money and help into concerns based in EU countries, and also pumped a lot of money into COVAX ( the international initiative to send vaccines to less rich countries).

So a chunk of those “EU exports” into UK and other countries were the result of capacity partly funded and created by UK.

Oh...and, of course, a lot of factories situated in EU producing the final vaccine are dependent on specialist materials sent over to them by the UK.

It's the interdependency which made the EU/UK spat so stupid. The end result wouldn't be more for one or the other, but less for both sides. It's cutting off one's nose to spite their face.

[John Pannozzi]

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[PwrdOn]

That graphic really doesn’t give a fair view of EU/UK relationship in COVID vaccines. Vaccines aren’t produced by the EU or UK governments, but by large multinational pharmaceutical companies.

For various reasons UK although it has a large pharmaceutical industry has concentrated on other things than large scale vaccine production.

Accordingly when it was clear large scale production would be needed UK government actually pumped money and help into concerns based in EU countries, and also pumped a lot of money into COVAX ( the international initiative to send vaccines to less rich countries).

So a chunk of those “EU exports” into UK and other countries were the result of capacity partly funded and created by UK.

Oh...and, of course, a lot of factories situated in EU producing the final vaccine are dependent on specialist materials sent over to them by the UK.

The fact that vaccines depend on a tightly integrated global supply chain just means that there needs to be more good faith cooperation to ensure that the vaccines are distributed equitably. It does NOT mean that the UK is entitled to lay claim to a disproportionate share of the vaccines because once other countries catch onto this behavior and reciprocate, as seen by the recent export bans by the EU and India, that's just going to screw everyone over.