Re: Coronavirus
 

There will never be a covid free situation, it will simply be contained, like the flu.

That kills thousands every year, with vaccinations - covid may end up being less of a killer than flu, as the vaccinations appear to work better.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

There could also be a false correlation rather than nocebo. If those 37 who go sick all had "the fish" in the canteen...

Re: Coronavirus
 

The French and German governments have a lot to answer for here. Their political game-playing over vaccine efficacy, in the full knowledge that they have serious problems with anti-vaxxers in their domestic populations (Germany in particular) has been reckless in the extreme. I have heard (anecdotally, from a friend with connections in Germany) of people turning up at vaccine centres and then refusing to be vaccinated when the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is produced.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I wonder what colour the vaccination passports will be?

Re: Coronavirus
 

Don't you mean a Covid vaccine and testing certificate. ;)

With so many variants and variable vaccination programmes I'm more intrigued as to where it would let you go. I hear Haifa is lovely.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Transparent.

Re: Coronavirus
 

On the 'COVID Passport' thing, it looks like the IATA is working on something for travelling - https://www.iata.org/en/youandiata/t...for-travelers/

Makes sense to have something global and consistent and hopefully replaces the old Yellow Card documents.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I have a natural curiousity, and like to find answers - "some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not...",

I'm not a doughnut, though... :D

Re: Coronavirus
 

why not;)

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Doesnt seem like much use unless you have a smart phone.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I wonder if we'll ever see combined flu/covid vaccinations. It would make things easier for everybody.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Don't need one.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...7&d=1614112598

Re: Coronavirus
 

I wonder why no one has ever thought of combing vaccines before?

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Indeed the risks of side effects (and subsequent challenge in identifying what exactly caused it) and additional pressure on the immune system is undesirable. Probably could be done but would take years. Time, cost and effort better placed elsewhere.

My dad has problems with his immune system and had a minor fever the morning after the AZ vaccine. Minor bugs can put him in hospital for a couple of days and this happens every 18 months or so. Mum had it a few days later and was completely fine. No tiredness, nothing.

Re: Coronavirus
 

One of the questions they ask when you get the jab is have you had any other vaccinations in the last 7 days (like flu).

If you have you must rebook for a later date. So no, they wont be combined.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Ich bin kein Berliner ;)

Re: Coronavirus
 

That's just because we don't know what the effect will be yet in combining doses. We have lots of other mixed vaccines - DPT, its cousin DTaP, MMR for example.

The nice thing is that that mRNA and adenovirus vaccines are now looking to be proven technology which lays the ground for much more agile flu vaccine production. If we can just drop in the relevant antigen RNA or DNA in to the COVID vaccine platform, then that will be great! Less likely to give nasty side effects and saves a LOT of eggs as you only get three doses per egg right now for current flu vaccines.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Survey from the university behind one of the vaccines, Oxford University.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/covid-vac...rd-university/

Re: Coronavirus
 

Well they've had enough of experts.

Interesting about the SNP too. Perhaps indicative of the value of good public messaging daily from the First Minister or the extent that other voters in Scotland would boycott it just to spite her.

Re: Coronavirus
 

The medical advice is that you can't have a covid jab, if you've very recently had a flu jab. A factor may be, how well can the immune system deal with 2 or more fake viruses at one point in time.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Interesting to see Liberal Democrat voters keen to be vaccinated too. As an endangered species, they should be up there on the priority list. :D

I take this report as a message for all of us to encourage anyone wavering about having a vaccination to go ahead and do it. I don't think anyone on this forum needs encouraging but some of us may know someone who does.

---------- Post added at 13:29 ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 ----------

It's important that the government targets its messaging on vaccinations to ensure as many people as possible are vaccinated. Research like this from a credible insitution like Oxford University is beneficial here.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Why is it a "stupid survey"?

The findings will help them focus appropriate efforts on those not keen on the vaccinations, rather than a "one size fits all" approach.

Here’s the actual Oxford press release - interesting reading.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-02-24...e-oxford-study

The full report - https://rpubs.com/benwansell/729135

Re: Coronavirus
 

There's at least 11.

Re: Coronavirus
 

study of only 1200 people and no link to the study in the article, I would suggest bollocks, especially when using % on such small sample sizes. 1no. SNP supporter asked = 100% either way etc.

---------- Post added at 14:17 ---------- Previous post was at 14:03 ----------

Ok thanks for that.

So the conclusions on how a Brexit party voter and SNP voter will view the vaccine is based on a sample size of 25 people and 48 people respectively........

1,855,175 people voted SNP at the last election and 951,372 voted Brexit Party

So it's a representative sample of 0.0025% for both, I wouldn't use it for my lottery numbers.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I would believe it is true, but I would say it proves little beyond the people who the establishment is hostile to are, in turn, hostile to the establishment.*

*a grammar expert is welcome to improve that sentence.

Re: Coronavirus
 

https://opentextbc.ca/researchmethod...cting-surveys/

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Easily - micro-targetting is how things like Facebook work.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Indeed.

Think of it this way.... If you tossed a coin 48 times and got 48 heads, would you say "well yeah, that's just chance", or would you suspect the coin was biased? That's basically the SNP result.

Re: Coronavirus
 

It wouldn't be because it's not specific.

If you had data suggesting that 35-45-year-old men who like Tennis, dislike Ant and Dec and live in Swindon are the prime problem group for getting vaccinated then you would target that demographic with ads that seek to alleviate their concerns.

It's not a case of finding out Jack from No 49 hasn't been vaccinated and getting up a billboard outside his house.

Re: Coronavirus
 

More good news globally on the vaccine front with a third vaccine approved in the US. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has still to be approved by the FDA.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...le/ar-BB1dYqmE

Re: Coronavirus
 

Surprisingly easily to be honest! If you go to somewhere like Google News - https://news.google.com/ and click on 'For you', you get news tailored to your interests and search history. I get a worrying large number of Daily Mail and Express links there to be honest but that's because I like to look 'below the line' at those sites.

These types of surveys are really helpful for groups like SPI-B in developing a rationally targetted health campaign. No point in putting effort is selling to someone who is already buying...

Re: Coronavirus
 

If there's one thing the Government doesn't lack it's behavioural scientists.

Epidemiologists on the other (clean) hand...

Re: Coronavirus
 

Thanks, that's disappointing.

Let's hope Paul's new thread acts as encouragement.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Problem with that is, it wasn’t a sample size of 1000, to make those conclusions on How Brexit party voters or SNP party voters view the vaccine. It was a sample size of 25 & 48.

If they had asked 1000 Brexit party voters and a 1000 SNP voters, you’d have a point.

Re: Coronavirus
 

What a shambolic state of affairs.:rolleyes: Good thing we went our own way.

Re: Coronavirus
 

The Sun being an obvious unbiased observer on all things EU.

Re: Coronavirus
 

We were wrong and now we have a problem! Germany in humiliating u-turn on AstraZeneca


THE Chairman of a committee that advised Germany that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given to over-65s has admitted that the country is now having problems getting people to take the Oxford jab following their U-turn.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...pdate-video-vn

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

The Sun haven't presented enough data to indicate if the Sun are wrong or right. There's the usual spin and hyperbole, selective quotations from officials.

What is the non-attendance rate at vaccination centres? Do many turn up then walk away because it's not a Pfizer vaccine?

A quick trawl of news sites indicates a lot of English interest in the story but not much traction in EU press, which is odd as they're one of the most effective ways at getting the message out to get vaccinated.

I'm about to combine two of everyone's favourite things on the forum polling and an FT link:

https://www.ft.com/content/1157896c-...c-e59f2752aaac

Indicates vaccine hesitancy predates any conversations around the AZ vaccine.

Re: Coronavirus
 

The story originated in an interview on the Today programme this morning, with the man who chairs Germany's vaccination committee - the same committee that decided to advise against giving the AZ vaccine to anyone over 65.

I know your world view has taken a proper beating over the past couple of weeks but sooner or later you're going to have to just choke it down. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and very effective in all age groups, even when the UK government's dosage regime is used in preference to that originally recommended by the manufacturer.

The British Government, and the devolved administrations, have played a blinder while it is in fact the French and German governments that have indulged in the very vaccine nationalism you have been quick to accuse our leaders of. The upshot is, now they finally have some vaccines to use, they can't get their people to take them. It's an absolute disgrace.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Ah the impartial BBC today programme.

I’m not sure what you mean by “my worldview”. Nobody has ever indicated they believe any of the vaccines to be unsafe - that’s a red herring. The effectiveness of the AZ vaccine was thrown into doubt by their own press release and subsequent interpretations.

Again I’ve only asked if the data actually supports this through non-attendance at appointments or people actively walking out when offered the AZ one. Not selective quotations from a media that I’d be very reluctant to categorise as impartial.

I’m yet to see such data. Are we talking 1% of appointments? 10%? 50%? How does that compare with attendance in the UK?

Notably Germany haven’t reversed their advice on over 65s so I doubt there’s that much regret on the part of their committee or else they’d change position.

Re: Coronavirus
 

It's not just the Sun though but nice try.

https://www.letelegramme.fr/france/l...1-12709482.php

Re: Coronavirus
 

If the chairman of Germany's vaccination committee comes on and states, live on air, that he thinks his committees advice - and his government's subsequent spin on it - is contributing to a negative perception of the AZ vaccine in Germany, how is the BBC's impartiality (or otherwise) at play?

Re: Coronavirus
 

"Germany is pushing hard for people to take the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as many turn it down in hope of a Pfizer shot"

https://www.businessinsider.com/germ...21-2?r=US&IR=T

Re: Coronavirus
 

Yet they haven’t reversed the advice?

As I say I’d be very interested in the data. What is a negative perception? A personal preference for one vaccine with higher efficacy? Non-attendance? A rise in the anti-vax movement?

None of this offered by a British press literally foaming at the mouth at the prospect of EU failure. A press who no doubt will be the first to complain if the same EU keeps it’s borders closed to third countries later in the year.

---------- Post added at 12:45 ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 ----------

Newspapers quoting newspapers. My second favourite journalism behind newspapers quoting social media.

Re: Coronavirus
 

The French have had bad experiences with vaccines and are more into alternative medicine* like homeopathy so they don't really surprise me. The Germans not taking it is surprising to me.

*I am being generous with that term.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Whilst many European countries have age-limited the Oxford-AstraZenecca vaccine, at least they've approved it. The US, Korea, Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand and many other countries have yet to approve it.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Explanation in this article why it’s not been approved in the USA.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahros...-hasnt-the-us/

Re: Coronavirus
 

:tu:

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Nice attempt at a pivot, but I'm not buying it.

You're not laying this at the door of the British press. Whatever their editorial agendas might be, this all blew up not because of Fleet Street EU skepticism but because of an interview given by a very senior German virologist in which he reflected on the consequences of his own advice.

Complaining at them all jumping on the story is simply a futile exercise in blaming the messenger.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I’m not sure where the pivot is?

The headlines don’t really match what was actually said, or the current advice from the same German committee.

I fully accept that you will never buy it, you are all in on the view that our Government have played a blinder throughout and the EU a disaster, even though as others point out that it’s not just EU member states with qualified, or so far no, approval of the AZ vaccine.

Interestingly Wales and Scotland appear to be diverging from the 12 week wait for second doses and have been since about February 14. I wonder what caused them to pivot position.

If there were genuine issues with uptake on any meaningful level where supply was outstripping demand I’d expect Germany, France or anyone else to be doing drop in vaccinations for all age groups to get the numbers up. There’s no anecdotal evidence for this, let along empirical evidence.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Fine, you're going to act dumb so I'll indulge you ...

You're desperately trying to pivot attention away from yet another instance where British policy has been borne out and the policies of various European governments have been found wanting. You're demanding to see statistics in a fairly laughable attempt to obscure the extreme seniority of the source that kicked off the story this morning. And you're blaming British newspapers for 'quoting each other,' once again trying to draw attention away from the fact that this story isn't selective reporting of a press release but simple repetition of the words of someone who is best placed to know what he's talking about.

And, just for fun, you're now trying to insinuate - without having provided evidence - that the devolved administrations have abandoned the 12 week dosage strategy. If you could provide a link to some stats that would be helpful.

Re: Coronavirus
 

https://www.travellingtabby.com/uk-coronavirus-tracker/

Down the page you can toggle to second doses for vaccination and you'll see Wales and Scotland have nudged upwards since February 15, when there's no need to do so for a few weeks yet.

I'm not playing dumb I'm only asking where the evidence is that Germans/French are shunning one vaccine over another on any meaningful level. No such data appears to exist. If it did, then the Germans/French are missing the open goal of expanding the vaccination campaign into wider age groups and the opportunity to build trust based on fellow citizens being vaccinated.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Are the AZ supply chains adequate enough to allow them to release significant numbers of those vaccines? Presumably the 240,000 need a second dose after 3 weeks. That leaves 1.16 million or enough for 550,000 people. Which is about a week worth of first vaccines in Germany based on the current rates.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Only the Pfizer one recommended no more than a 3 week gap based on clinical trials, AZ never have.

Re: Coronavirus
 

How does that tally up with the EMA approving the AZ vaccine for all adults;

Link

In the end, the safety and efficacy of the AZ vaccines in over 65s is, at best, an educated guess. It's a risk worth taking probably but still a guess.

I don't think honouring your international agreements is much of a crime to be honest....

Re: Coronavirus
 

https://twitter.com/rp131/status/136...423951366?s=21

It looks like England are upping their second doses too, albeit not by as much (as a proportion of all vaccines) as the increases in Wales and Scotland. Be interesting to know if the trend continues ahead of the 12 week threshold or whether it levels off. I suppose it’d also be interesting to know if they’re Pfizer, AZ or a combination of both.

Re: Coronavirus
 

A doctor said on TV yesterday that the vaccination works by exposing people to a mild dose of Covid, thus allowing their immune system to recognise the virus & prepare itself to fight it.

As a consequence, someone asked if they should have the vaccine if they've recently had the virus. The answer was yes, but to wait for four weeks before being vaccinated.

It seems odd that someone who naturally catches it doesn't become immune, but someone who is given it artificially obtains a varying level of immunity. If having and surviving Covid doesn't give one immunity, it's interesting that being given it artificially does.

Re: Coronavirus
 

That's not factually accurate - neither the Pfizer or the Oxford vaccines give you a "mild dose" of COVID.

Many standard vaccines work by injecting a dead or weakened form of the pathogen into the body (as stated above) in preparations that are designed not to make you sick but rather to build immunity. The key to building this immunity is that the portion of the pathogen called the antigen trains the immune system to recognise and respond to the infectious agent.

The Pfizer vaccine works by introducing into the body a messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence that contains the genetic instructions for the vaccinated person’s own cells to produce the vaccine antigens and generate an immune response.

https://www.pfizer.co.uk/behind-scie...t-mrna-vaccine

The Oxford/AZ vaccine uses a harmless, weakened version of a common virus (not COVID) which causes a cold in chimpanzees. The virus is genetically modified so it is impossible for it to grow in humans. Scientists have transferred the genetic instructions for coronavirus’s specific “spike protein” – which it needs to invade cells – to the vaccine. When the vaccine enters cells inside the body, it uses this genetic code to produce the surface spike protein of the coronavirus. This induces an immune response, priming the immune system to attack coronavirus if it infects the body.

https://www.itv.com/news/2020-11-19/...d-vaccine-work

Re: Coronavirus
 

The vaccines do not give you the actual live Covid-19 virus. If it did it would mean that anyone who was vaccinated risked passing the virus on to other people.

If you would care to read the following link it explains how the vaccination works.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...they-work.html

Re: Coronavirus
 

The variation is most likely due to the need to ensure second doses happen not more than 12 weeks after the first. If need be, that will involve doing them sooner rather than later. There’s no signal in your data that anybody has taken a clinical decision to deliberately move to a different dosage schedule.

Despite the roaring success of our vaccination programme so far, we do still have finite capacity for conducting vaccinations and finite quantities of the vaccine itself. To complicate things further, supplies of the Pfizer vaccine, which is the one given to all our earliest and most vulnerable recipients, are constrained at the moment while they concentrate on bringing new production capacity on stream. This constraint has been known about for many weeks and was planned for.

It is imperative that these people get the correct vaccine and that they don’t get it too late. It seems to me to be perfectly sensible to go slightly early if that’s what available resources dictate. How good it is, though, to be in a position to take such decisions from a position of strength.

Re: Coronavirus
 

So now the numbers could indicate an increase we have spin to support it in any case.

It'll be interesting to see if the long term average second dose trends closer to 3 weeks than 12.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I have friends who got vaccinated today and came home with second appointment dates 11 weeks from now. Obviously you can’t determine a trend from a single case but it very much has the appearance of safeguarding 12 weeks as the upper limit for waiting for the next dose as opposed to an attempt to shift back to 3. If you’re hoping for a massive u-turn and some sort of revelation that the 12 week strategy was wrong all along ... well you’re going to be disappointed.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I have now booked my Covid-19 Vaccinations, as I am eligible working in the health care sector, I hesitated at first, as I have had Covid, but I was asymptomatic but now I am not messing about. Both my parents have had theirs and they have been fine.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1614275232

Re: Coronavirus
 

:tu:

Re: Coronavirus
 

It will for the Pfizer vaccine IMHO. I was told I would be getting my second AZ jab in 11 weeks.

Wales started ramping up 2nd doses 10 days age, 10 weeks from the start.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...covid-19911703

Re: Coronavirus
 

Spot on. :clap:
EU has punished us by approving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and Japan, Switzerland and Korea have rewarded us by not yet approving it. :confused:

Re: Coronavirus
 

Thanks for the info & explanations as to how the vaccine works. Looks like the doctor was wrong, which is a bit worrying (unless i've got it wrong, which is entirely possible due to cognitive impairment following a brain injury).

Re: Coronavirus
 

What programme was it on?

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Pardon?

Re: Coronavirus
 

Loving this site BTW - https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vac...ainst-covid-19

Interesting data on that page. About half way down is a chart of how many people have had two doses of vaccine

United States 20.61 million
European Union 9.93 million
Israel 3.21 million
United Arab Emirates 2.19 million
Germany 1.91 million
India 1.48 million
Brazil 1.44 million
Italy 1.35 million
France 1.32 million
Turkey 1.27 million
Spain 1.22 million
Poland 1.03 million
Indonesia 825,650
United Kingdom 669,105
Romania 611,553
England 528,360
Serbia 487,359

Shows how the policies differ from country to country.

Also good info on vaccination attitudes. When asked how likely different nationalities were to get a vaccination, the numbers are shocking;

United Kingdom Dec 31 71.3%
Denmark 66.2%
Finland 58.4%
Sweden 56.6%
Norway 55.1%
Italy 55.0%
Spain 51.8%
Netherlands Dec 31 51.6%
Australia Dec 31 50.3%
Canada Dec 31 48.9%
Germany Dec 31 41.0%
Japan 36.7%
Singapore 34.6%
France 29.8%

UK and the nordics leading the way!

Re: Coronavirus
 

My 2nd appointment was auto generated, on May 11th, which makes it 11 weeks and 1 day after my first.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I was getting up to date with my recordings from the past couple of weeks of 'Morning Live', so it will have been the daily Coronavirus update from Dr Xand van Tulleken.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I saw that one - I think you may have misremembered/misunderstood.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Hopefully, as I like him as a doctor and how he explains things.

H was also talking about the flu vaccine, perhaps I was confusing it with that if that uses the actual virus to make people immune.

Re: Coronavirus
 

The system here is different. I was called by GP and agreed a slot, my wife had text (I think). She had her first dose yesterday, just turned up at the right time, they checked their list and in she went. She had to wait 15 mins or so afterwards to check for severe reaction, given a data sheet and a card with vaccine batch number and type.


I hope they don't work towards a digital "passport", that would be very expensive giving people some sort of device instead of a card, I don't have a phone so they can't use that and discriminating against those with out phones is discrimination.


Can't see point of a vaccine passport anyway, if you are vaccinated fine, if you can't have the vaccine they can't discriminate against you. It's thought that by April those in the groups that have made up 99% of the fatalities due to Covid will have had at least one dose of vaccine so by then it should be "safe" just to go about with more freedom. Those at risk who can't have the vaccine likely will not want to mix too much.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Over-40s next in line to get a Covid vaccine.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56208674

Re: Coronavirus
 

Employers routinely discriminate against those who refuse certain vaccinations where they are relevant, as do plenty of countries at their borders. Whether the UK develops a full-on vaccine passport or not, the principle that people may be barred from doing certain things if they refuse to be vaccinated (or even if they can’t be) is well established, and objecting merely on the premise that it’s discrimination won’t fly.

Discrimination is something everybody does, every day. I think we forget that it is not a criminal or immoral act in itself just because campaigning types prefer to use it pejoratively. Discrimination against someone who doesn’t have a phone is not, for example, illegal in itself.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Canada approves Oxford/AZ vaccine

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/0...vaccine-471746

Re: Coronavirus
 

Interesting post I have lifted from Quora. I have copied the links used at the bottom.





Is it really the truth that the UK or the US have contributed more funding to COVID-19 vaccine development than EU countries?

The US has spent a lot:-

The U.S. has already invested billions in potential coronavirus vaccines. Here's where the deals stand

“So far, the federal government has struck deals with a handful of pharmaceutical giants that have topped roughly $10.79 billion as part of Operation Warp Speed.

Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and BioNTech, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline, Novavax and AstraZeneca have all received funding from the operation for their vaccines.”

Germany has spent a fair bit:-

Germany funded the development of Pfizer's COVID vaccine—not U.S.'s Operation Warp Speed

“The truth is that Pfizer didn’t receive any funding from Operation Warp Speed for the development, clinical trial and manufacturing of the vaccine. Rather, its partner, BioNTech SE, has received money -- from the German government.

Berlin gave the German company $445 million in an agreement in September to help accelerate the vaccine by building out manufacturing and development capacity in its home market.

What the U.S. did, meanwhile, was commit to buying hundreds of millions of vaccines in advance to ensure Americans were among the first in line if it clinches an emergency-use authorization or approval from the FDA. The Trump administration agreed in July to pay almost $2 billion for 100 million doses, with an option to acquire as many as 500 million more, once that clearance comes.”

But the UK’s commitment has been enormous:-

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

“The UK’s push to secure and administer hundreds of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines is estimated to have cost up to £11.7 billion ($15.97 billion) so far, according to the public spending watchdog.

The government has signed deals for five vaccines providing up to 267m doses at an expected cost of £2.9bn, with non-binding agreements with two other companies set to bring total provision to 357m doses, the National Audit Office said in a report published on Wednesday.

Additional costs including those associated with sponsoring trials, distributing and administering the vaccines lifted the total spend to £11.7bn.”

UK meets £250m match aid target into COVAX, the global vaccines facility.

“The UK has helped to raise $1 billion for the coronavirus COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) through match-funding other donors, which combined with the £548 million of UK aid pledged will help distribute one billion doses of coronavirus vaccines to 92 developing countries this year.”

And the EU?:-

Press corner

“The European Union has supported the rapid development and production of several vaccines against COVID-19 with a total of €2.7 billion and it is important to protect the integrity of this substantial investment from the EU budget.

It is not our intention to restrict exports any more than absolutely necessary, and the Union remains fully committed to international solidarity and its international obligations.”

You can work it out yourself as to who, per capita, has contributed the most to the worldwide fight against Covid-19.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/14/the-...als-stand.html

https://fortune.com/2020/11/09/pfize...speed-germany/

https://www.ft.com/content/58b11945-...9-695e162642fb

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/u...%20this%20year

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pres...n/qanda_21_308

Re: Coronavirus
 

This lockdown is so hard

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/n...eather-5055881

For some :rolleyes:

Re: Coronavirus
 

Not an issue though.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-02-17/...aches-mps-told

Re: Coronavirus
 

Based on those figures it would be thoroughly embarrassing to perform such a calculation, both in terms of our national modesty and the dubious behaviour of other wealthy nations.

Coupled with further data leaks in the Sunday Press today showing just how spectacularly effective the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is, even after a single dose, and our leadership in pushing for wealthy nations to give more to Covax, it is increasingly clear that we’re going to have done much more than our fair share to beat this pandemic.

Good thing too.

Re: Coronavirus
 

So nobody that has gone to a beach has caught COVID? If so hallelujah, there is a cure, ie go to a beach.:rolleyes:

Re: Coronavirus
 

I can’t help wondering whether you bothered to read that link. If you did, the nuances of it have clearly gone over your head.

Here’s a choice quote:

When an epidemiologist talks in terms of “outbreak” he’s thinking in terms of significant levels of transmission, not whether a single person has ever caught a particular infection in a particular location. I’d like to think you understood that and were being provocative for purposes of lively debate.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Catching it in the open air has always been a small chance, even more remote when you are simply passing by someone.

It always makes me laugh when Im out walking, and people cross the road, as if some big monster is going to jump out of me and attack them.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Those numbers surprised me for the UK as the main government research councils involved here get the following levels of funding;

Medical Research Council (MRC) - around £800million
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) - around £500million
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) - around £900million

So even if all that government money went towards COVID, that's £2.2billion. Obviously, that isn't the case, there's plenty of other research going on. I do see that the Oxford Vaccine Group got a cool £65.5million extra from the government.

On top of that according to that FT article, we have spent £2.9billion on 267million vaccine doses which works out at £10 per dose. It looks like £6.2bilion is going to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for vaccine procurement and deployment with £519million of that on manufacturing capability for the UK.

The only reference I could find for €2.7billion for the EU was for the vaccine purchasing. There seem to be contracts for up to 2.3billion doses which works out at €1.17 per dose which seems low. Horizon 2020 are punting €1billion alone for COVID work.

I am not sure your figures are comparing like for like...

Re: Coronavirus