Thread: Coronavirus
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Old 31-01-2021, 08:33   #3271
1andrew1
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Re: Coronavirus
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sephiroth View Post
You wish!
My joke was that the EU's behaviour was so bad that a tin foil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist might suggest that it had been infiltrated by Brexiters determined to bring it down as the EU couldn't have played it any worse.

Anyway, moving on, there's a good article in Sky News today about the government's procurement of vaccinations. Worth reading in full but one snippet here on how and why Matt Hancock over-ruled his officials on the Oxford vaccine. Spoiler: Matt Hancock seems to have called it right!
Quote:
During March and April 2020, the University of Oxford negotiated a deal which would allow Merck to manufacture and distribute the vaccine it was in the process of developing.

The arrangement made sense. Unlike British-Swedish AstraZeneca, Merck had experience in making vaccines. Its senior executives had links to Oxford scientist and government adviser Sir John Bell.

Yet when the contract reached Matt Hancock's desk, the former adviser said, the health secretary refused to approve it, because it didn't include provisions specifically committing to supply the UK first.

The fear was export controls - not from the EU, but from the US. Mr Hancock was worried that president Trump would stop vaccines from Merck leaving the country.

With the university and Merck "as close to signing on the dotted line as they could be", he stopped it going ahead, because he didn't want to risk the intellectual property rights for the Oxford vaccine ending up in the hands of a single American company.

"He was just meant to confirm he was happy, and then it would have happened immediately," said the former adviser. "But he wasn't, and overruled officials to block the deal."

Reports have suggested that the Oxford scientists were unsure whether the deal with Merck had strong enough provisions for supplying poorer countries with vaccines. Mr Hancock's objection was more local and political. He wanted to make sure there was enough for UK citizens. The rest of the world could come later.
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-...upply-12204044
Last edited by 1andrew1; 31-01-2021 at 09:14.
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