Cutting the supply of vaccines

just heard on radio that birmingham is starting 24 hour vaccinations, including in a mosque.
so that's some progress.

How selfish, to cast over-80s overboard, without any concern for their welfare just because they do not live near you.

In different areas of the country the proportion of over 80s varies, some areas are more highly populated. There are all sorts of reasons why one area is vaccinating one age group faster than the other.

To read the uncaring, gimme, gimme, gimme post on this thread, and to know that someone could post, probably without realising exactly what they were saying, is one of saddest things I have ever read on GN.

Because GrannyRose15. We should all be looking out for and helping each other at the moment.

It is a good thing that the doctors are using their objectivity and good judgement in the decision to where the supply of vaccine on any particular day goes.

Relying on those without a community spirit illustrated so starkly on this tread would be disastrous.

JenniferEccles

Here’s a thought- why don’t we just let those in charge of the vaccine rollout organise the distribution as they see fit, rather than pouncing on any news item and be critical?

Vaccinating the entire adult population is a massive undertaking, surely everyone understands that?

So far it’s going extremely well so let’s leave them to it and be grateful when our turn comes.

Because they have made such a mess of everything else it is very hard to trust them with this. I'm really surprised it is going so well so far and am waiting for the catch.

Scentia

Because GrannyRose15. We should all be looking out for and helping each other at the moment.

But don't you think the government should have learned by now that the people in the North feel aggrieved about always being second and then being penalised for doing something right.
I spoke earlier on this thread (or maybe another one) about the divisions in our country. This really doesn't help and Matt Hancock should be much more careful in what he says and does.

My sister and BiL in N Yorks - both a little over 75 - had 1st doses yesterday.
(I was going to say ‘j***’ until I remembered how it gets up a particular GNer’s nose!

Well it looks as if the EU is going to be doing precisely that by imposing barriers on the export of vaccines to the U.K. ??

Well I live in the North and don’t feel aggrieved at all. It is only right that the vaccine should be distributed to over 80s all over the country first.
* Jennifer Eccles* couldn’t agree more the roll out is going well so far so let’s just be grateful and stop criticising just for the sake of it!!!

Maybe people would like to have a look at the "Fake News" thread?

"EU countries to hold suppliers to their contracts"

gets translated as

"EU is putting up trade barriers to vaccine exports to the UK"

BBC News site

The EU has warned it will tighten exports of Covid vaccines produced in the bloc, amid a row with AstraZeneca over a cut in planned supplies
DT
BRITAIN’S Covid vaccine supply is in jeopardy after the EU threatened to block exports of the Belgian-made Pfizer jabs as part of a row with the UK-based AstraZeneca.

Brussels decided to impose tighter controls on exports after reacting with anger to the news that AstraZeneca will deliver 50 million fewer doses to the EU than it had expected

The Guardian
The UK’s vaccine minister, Nadhim Zahawi, has said he is confident that Pfizer will deliver the number of coronavirus injections needed in the UK

It follows concerns over vaccine supply in the EU, prompting the bloc to tell pharmaceutical companies they can only export to Britain with its explicit permission

Asked whether the EU could prevent Pfizer vials from leaving its borders, Zahawi told Sky News: “No, I’m confident that the Pfizer vaccine will be delivered.
The EU issued an angry warning to AstraZeneca on Monday over its unexpected delay in delivering millions of doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to the bloc

If “permission” has to be gained it can of course also be withheld.
Are we being held over a barrel? .

grannyrose, if a whole tranche of you managed to get the jab before the rest of the country, what is disadvantaged about that?

You should be delighted that this happened and should show the generousity and wonderful community spririt, which we are always being told you have, to be prepared to slow down a bit until other parts of the country catch up.

Alegrias However way one sees it, my response is 'Why shouldn't they?'

We chose to leave the EU, we must live with the consequences. You cannot have your cake and eat it.

No, we're not being "held over a barrel".

The EU want the manufacturers to deliver on their commitments. Which means not sending higher proportions of vaccines to third party countries when the cannot meet the orders of the EU itself. They want what they ordered.

As we are now a third party country with no stake in the EU, they can treat us the same as everybody else when it comes to exports, which is exactly what they are doing. They're not withholding supplies just to annoy us. So yes they can withhold permission for exports. Welcome to the world post Brexit.

Agreed M0nica

Confession - I haven't read all the thread. But I have read some posts blaming it on the EU being nasty to us because we left, and I can't help saying - If we are not in their club, why should they give us members' privileges?

There are similar complaints going on about having to pay duty on parcels sent or recieved to and from the EU. Surely everyone remembers the days when ALL parcels to and from other countries involved a lot of paperwork and import/export tax, and ALL travel needed passports and/or visas and/or vaccinations?

That is one of the reasons we joined the EU - to be in a group where there was free movement of goods and people. But we voted to be clear of them - remember?

I think the complaint is that the EU seem to be threatening to stop Pfizer honouring contracts for delivery of vaccines already ordered.

Our area is not particularly disadvantaged yet just over 50 percent of the over 80s have been vaccinated as of last week. I don't understand why, but I do think this group needs to be given priority. Having said that I also know several people in the next age group who have received it, so I imagine its the organisation.

Even pre-orders and contracts have to obey the trading regulations of the country they are coming from at the time of delivery.

These vaccines were ordered during the transition time for delivery after we left the EU completely. Everything change when we left the EU and the contract has to follow those new rules now.

The priority with the Pfizer vaccine for the UK now should be to make sure there is enough in reserve to give the second dose to those who have received their first already.

The majority of the Moderna vaccine is made in the USA so presumably they will provide to the UK from there if there are problems with the EU, although our supply would probably be expected to come from France, and the Astra Zeneca vaccine is produced in the UK, so I don’t think there’s any need to panic yet.

Casdon

The priority with the Pfizer vaccine for the UK now should be to make sure there is enough in reserve to give the second dose to those who have received their first already.

The majority of the Moderna vaccine is made in the USA so presumably they will provide to the UK from there if there are problems with the EU, although our supply would probably be expected to come from France, and the Astra Zeneca vaccine is produced in the UK, so I don’t think there’s any need to panic yet.

Absolutely casdon. My worry is that if we don't have enough to give a timely second dose to everyone who has had the first then we will have wasted our efforts and alot of vaccine. Still think they should have stuck to the trial data and given everyone a second does after 3 weeks.

Did anyone watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme this morning ?
A GP was speaking on behalf of the BAME community where he'd stated that many had refused vaccinations saying that they all feared being used as guinea-pigs because the vaccine wasn't properly tested. These people are the more vulnerable to the virus, but are believing they'll be killed by the vaccine and see it as a racist move.

I couldn't believe that a doctor would even attempt to speak in such a way, it was awful.

This was on the news EllanVannin and yes, this was reported as community leaders and doctors are concerned about this.

Why was it awful?
It is very worrying.

At you horrified at the fact that BAME people have been conned into believing this tripe, EV or at the doctor for saying it? If it is true that they believe it, then should the doctor have kept quiet about that fact, and kept it a secret? It is not clear from your post.

If it is known that they are afraid to take the vaccine, then it is possible for someone (who??) to try to calm those fears and explain that it is not so. Why hide his knowledge of their fears?

Some areas just were not even sent the vaccine until about 10 days ago.
My mother-in-law lives in one of these areas and at 96 was vaccinated on Friday last week.

If some areas had started vaccinating before Christmas or early in the new year, that is how they "got ahead".