All About Vaccines

[achilles]

This is pretty despicable:

Influencers say Russia-linked PR agency asked them to disparage Pfizer vaccine

It certainly is. I'm not surprised though.

[Tami]

EU case against AstraZeneca over vaccine supplies opens

A lawyer for the European Union accused AstraZeneca on Wednesday of not having even tried to respect its contract with the 27-nation bloc for the supply of Covid-19 vaccines and of failing to warn it in time of large cuts to deliveries.

The EU took the Anglo-Swedish firm to court in April after the drugmaker said it would aim to deliver only 100 million doses of its vaccine by the end of June, instead of the 300 million foreseen in the supply contract.

The EU wants the company to deliver at least 120 million vaccines by the end of June.

“AstraZeneca did not even try to respect the contract,” the EU’s lawyer, Rafael Jafferali, told a Brussels court in the first hearing on the substance of the legal case.

AstraZeneca’s lawyer was due to address the court later on Wednesday. The company has repeatedly said the contract was not binding as it only committed to make “best reasonable efforts” in delivering doses.

Mr Jafferali said that principle had not been respected because the drugmaker had not delivered to the bloc the 50 million doses produced in factories that are listed in the contract as suppliers to the EU, including 39 million doses manufactured in Britain.

[JackDaw]

EU case against AstraZeneca over vaccine supplies opens

Sad that it’s come to this.

Normally I’d predict an EU loss...their legal case seems suspect...but from memory case is being tried in Belgium, so that might even up the odds.

[Tami]

The US worried about vaccine tourists. Now it’s encouraging them.

The British expat arrived on a red-eye flight from his home in Nairobi, Kenya, at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday, May 21, with the intention of staying just a few days—more than enough time, he hoped, to get a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Alex had been thinking about how to get vaccinated for weeks. Kenya has received only enough donated doses to vaccinate roughly 1% of its population, and while he would be eligible in the United Kingdom, getting shots there would be very complicated: a 14-day quarantine in a designated hotel upon arrival, registration with a local doctor, another 14-day quarantine upon his return to Kenya, and then likely a repeat of the whole process three or four months later for a second shot, since the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has not yet been approved in the UK.

The US, on the other hand, has no quarantine requirements and its vaccine supply has outstripped demand since April. After hearing first that a British couple he was friends with had successfully gotten their shot in Colorado, and then that New York City had plans to vaccinate travelers at popular tourist sites, Alex applied for his visa and booked his flight.

He doesn’t feel great about it, though. The past few years of US politics have left the country low on his list of places to visit, and it doesn’t make sense to him that he has to travel for a vaccine.

“It’s a bit of a joke, really,” he told me before his trip. “Is it really better to fly loads of people to New York to do this than to just fly some vaccines from New York to places where vaccines are needed?”

And it’s not just New York. Twenty-four states currently do not require residency for vaccines; 25 more offer the shot to both residents and nonresident workers.

Many have become destinations for foreign vaccine tourists. There are reports of Mexican celebrities flying into Miami, a Peruvian presidential candidate getting vaccinated in Texas, and Canadians seeking vaccines in American pharmacies just south of the border. At one point, the state of Florida became so concerned about foreign visitors taking advantage of its vaccine availability that it began requiring proof of residency at vaccination sites. (Florida ended the residency requirement in late April.)

Other states and territories have been more direct in tying vaccine tourism to their own economic recovery efforts. Alaska will begin offering the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to visitors upon arrival at four airports on June 1, and the US Virgin Islands, while not explicitly marketing themselves as a vaccine tourism destination, have seen the benefits nonetheless.

[Tami]

Sheriff's deputy who was fond of posting anti-vaccine videos dies of COVID-19

Daniel "Duke" Trujillo, 33, served as a deputy sheriff for 7 years and had recently been appointed vice-president of the Denver Sheriff Latino Organization. He died this Wednesday from the virus, according to an announcement from Denver Sheriff Department.

Images and video shared to Twitter show posts from Trujillo that rejected the COVID-19 vaccine. A Facebook profile photo he posted in early May said, "I have an immune system," suggesting that he could fight off the virus naturally. In late April, he posted a profile picture that read, "I don't care if you've had your vaccine."

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Sheriff's deputy who was fond of posting anti-vaccine videos dies of COVID-19

Yet another Darwin Award winner. Karma is such a harsh mistress.

[CaptainEurope]

Yet another Darwin Award winner. Karma is such a harsh mistress.

"the consequences of your actions" =/= Karma.

[Zelena]

Sad that it’s come to this.

Normally I’d predict an EU loss...their legal case seems suspect...but from memory case is being tried in Belgium, so that might even up the odds.

If the delivery problems had concerned the UK as much as the EU, there would have been no problem. But it was not the case. For contracts that were drafted exactly in the same way.

[achilles]

If the delivery problems had concerned the UK as much as the EU, there would have been no problem. But it was not the case. For contracts that were drafted exactly in the same way.

Except they weren't, were they? The EU waited and waited, while the UK, like the US, acted quickly and early to lock up their supplies. To me, it sounds like the EU screwed up big time, and now are trying to save face by blaming the company for their own screw ups.

[CaptainEurope]

Except they weren't, were they? The EU waited and waited, while the UK, like the US, acted quickly and early to lock up their supplies. To me, it sounds like the EU screwed up big time, and now are trying to save face by blaming the company for their own screw ups.

That is a lie that has been spread by several sources:

Much has been made of the widely reported fact that the UK signed its vaccine supply contract materially earlier than the EU. The time difference usually given is three months. But is this really true?

The EU entered into its ‘Advance Purchase Agreement for the production, ‎purchase and supply of the Cov-19 vaccine in the European ‎Union’ as of 27th August 2020, also the Effective Date.‎ The contract was released for publication the preceding day.

Far from being signed three months earlier, the UK Government did not enter into its ‘Supply Agreement for AZD1222’ with AstraZeneca until 28th August 2020, one day later.

So, in terms of signing the contracts, the UK does not seem to have stolen any great march on the EU and the timing of the contracting process does not appear to explain why the UK supply chain has operated more smoothly, although there may have been other timing factors at play.

[achilles]

That is a lie that has been spread by several sources:

Why is this source so definitive then? It seems unlikely that anyone would spread a lie about something as easily verifiable as dates...

There is also no logical reason why the company would treat the much larger client, the EU, worse than it did the smaller one, the UK, unless it was contractual. I mean the company isn't stomping around shouting, "I hate the EU!". It obviously wants the EU's money and repeat business, and doesn't want to have legal problems.

[CaptainEurope]

My source is definitive because it has the facts on its side. The EU contract was signed before the UK one. That's not exactly debating how World War 1 was started.

[Zelena]

There is also no logical reason why the company would treat the much larger client, the EU, worse than it did the smaller one, the UK, unless it was contractual. I mean the company isn't stomping around shouting, "I hate the EU!". It obviously wants the EU's money and repeat business, and doesn't want to have legal problems.

No logical reason? There’s at least one obvious reason: the UK didn’t wait for the authorization of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency. They used it on their responsibility. AstraZeneca wouldn’t have been hold responsible for anything if something went wrong in this vaccine program in the UK.

[JackDaw]

Why is this source so definitive then? It seems unlikely that anyone would spread a lie about something as easily verifiable as dates...

There is also no logical reason why the company would treat the much larger client, the EU, worse than it did the smaller one, the UK, unless it was contractual. I mean the company isn't stomping around shouting, "I hate the EU!". It obviously wants the EU's money and repeat business, and doesn't want to have legal problems.

I think the Captain is right about the signing of the ultimate supply contacts, the EU one was signed fractionally before the UK one.

But...equally...the UK Government/ Oxford university/ Astra Zeneca relationship BEFORE it got to that formal stage was far closer and more co-operative than the EU/ Astra Zeneca one. And the two contracts do have different wording, they are not identical.

I agree with you that Astra Zeneca do not have anything to gain by peeing off the EU...I find notion that they are not using their best endeavours to help a massive customer is a wee bit bizarre. I’ll be interested in ultimate resolution of court case, and if I had to place a bet, I think I’d be betting that AZ will be relatively unscathed.

[Tami]

Anheuser-Busch to give away free beer when America hits its vaccination goal.

The brewing giant Anheuser-Busch said on Wednesday that it would offer Americans another incentive to get vaccinated: free beer.

The company said in a statement that it would “buy America’s next round” of beer, seltzer or nonalcoholic beverage once the country reached President Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of the adult population get at least one coronavirus vaccination by July 4. So far, 63 percent of adult Americans have received at least one dose.

“We pride ourselves on stepping up both in times of need and in times of great celebration, and the past year has been no different,” said Michel Doukeris, the chief executive of Anheuser-Busch. “As we look ahead to brighter days with renewed optimism, we are proud to work alongside the White House to make a meaningful impact for our country, our communities and our consumers.”

Reaching the vaccination goal by Independence Day may not be easy. The pace of vaccinations in the United States has slowed, but the biggest gains in recent weeks have been made in vaccinating 12- to-15-year olds, who are not eligible for the $5 debit card for free beer. However, progress has been made in reaching some groups, including Latinos and people without college degrees, with the highest rates of vaccines hesitancy, according to the Kaiser Foundation.