This is rubbish. What about the contract with the EU. AZ have only delivered 30% of what has been due so far.
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That’s fairly easy to say regarding the immediate beneficiaries but who may have vested interests may be a little more opaque.
The immediate beneficiaries would be Pfizer, Moderna, Sanofi, and Sputnik. Johnson & Johnson also a possibility as a low cost option but they’re several months behind AZ in terms of scaling up production.
Apart from the Russian vaccine the one that particularly interests me is Sanofi. Macron heavily lobbied for Sanofi within the EU as the French option equivalent to the German BioNTech(Pfizer). But Sanofi’s vaccine candidate has ended up being a damp squib. So much so that it has probably made big losses. To redeem itself (reputationally and commercially) it has been pushing Pfizer to allow it to use its facilities to manufacture their vaccine. Ostensibly to help with the much needed scaling of production needed to combat the virus but equally because it would make back some of its losses.
When you consider that Macron has been the EU leader who has caused singularly the most damage to AstraZeneca (for example describing it as quasi-ineffective and being the most vocal proponent of an export ban), it has made me wonder…
And, of course, it fits with his desire to punish the UK for Brexit about which he’s already playing to a very sympathetic (and anti-vaxx) domestic audience. Plus, French politicians might possibly be even more corrupt than ours.
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Definitely not missed your uninformed contributions.
https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN2BI0JV?__twitter_impression=true
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia is considering diverting COVID-19 inoculations from its vaccination programme to Papua New Guinea (PNG) where the coronavirus is threatening to unleash a humanitarian disaster, a government source said on Friday.
PNG is due to get 588,000 doses of vaccine by June under the COVAX initiative to help poorer countries but doubts have arisen about those supplies given new restrictions imposed in producing countries as the virus spreads.
The European Union is implementing tougher vaccine export controls and has yet to respond to an Australian request that it release 1 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine that has been contracted to go to Australia, to PNG instead, the source told Reuters.
India has put a temporary hold on all major exports of the AstraZeneca shot made by the Serum Institute of India to meet domestic demand, which will almost certainly delay deliveries to PNG.
There is growing concern that PNG, an island nation of about 10 million people, many living in impoverished, isolated communities, can’t afford to wait.
“We have a humanitarian disaster unfolding in our backyard,” said the source, who is familiar with the thinking of the government on the issue. The source declined to be identified as he is not authorised to talk to the media.
Australia is still lobbying the EU for the 1 million doses but considering other options, the source said.
“No decision has yet been made but the government is considering sending vaccines,” said the source, who did not comment on any quantity of doses being discussed.
A government spokesman declined to comment.
‘TOO URGENT’
PNG, which was administered by Australia before its independence, has recorded more than 4,000 cases of the virus, according to figures released on Thursday.
But Australia says that tally vastly underestimates the extent of the crisis as the Pacific country does not do mass testing.
PNG’s biggest hospitals have reported that as many as 80% are coming back positive and Prime Minister James Marape has said the virus has “broken loose”.
The only vaccines PNG has received are just over 8,000 doses that Australia sent for health workers.
“The Australian government is absolutely right to be pressing the EU on this matter but the situation is too urgent to wait,” said Marc Purcell, CEO of the Australian Council for International Development, which represents aid agencies.
What was that about playing God?
Thankyou for responding. Nice to know you care 
The fact is I appreciate that you are an intelligent and well informed man. That does not mean you are always right.
The UK has received 21 million doses from the EU. No doses have gone the other way.
The UK has done brilliantly with the vaccinations and still seems to be vaccinating thousands every day , something the EU cannot do due to lack of the promised vaccine. EU citizens are humans as well and are just as deserving as any others.
Personally I think they are playing into Boris hands as he takes every opportunity to knock the EU in an attempt to turn UK citizens against the EU and make his stupid Brexit deal look good. Just my opinion .
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Yeah, that’s what I think as well: who has direct interest to see AZ trashed? The big pharma companies who produce this vaccine for their own profit. I’m quite sure that they are behind the EU’s current efforts to discredit AZ.
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The UK has received 21 million doses from production facilities based in the EU. The EU itself has sent it nothing, it is not a manufacturer of vaccines.
The vaccine wasn’t promised. An estimated amount of vaccine doses were agreed to be delivered according to an estimated timetable.
Of course everyone is as deserving as everyone else. But that isn’t the EU’s argument. They are not looking for equal distribution of vaccines around the world (that’s why they opted out of participating in COVAX). They want vaccines belonging to countries like the US, UK and Israel redistributed to them but there’s no intention that they will then pass them on to countries who have not vaccinated as high a % of the population as they have (90% of the world).
It’s purely a desperate attempt to seize property that doesn’t belong to it because it has messed up its vaccine procurement.
The EU are architects of their own negative perception here, outside of the EU and in numerous corporate boardrooms around the world.
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None for the EU though.
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Already posted and thoroughly debunked above. Next.
Cue conspiracy theorists claiming it’s being sprayed into pub toilets.
The EU isn’t making or distributing the vaccine just as wines from Stellenbosch sold around the world are not courtesy of the South African government. I’m pretty sure this simple fact is being deliberately drowned out in all the noise.
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Now that’s got my imagination raging.
Imagine sowing that seed that they have inadvertently been infected with Bill Gates nano bots while visiting pub.
Wife, mid 30’s T.A., just got told through the school that she can get the AZ jab today if she responds in the next 30 mins. She asked me whether I thought she should and I told her there is no reason not to. I imagine she is taking a cancelled appointment?
I share this because we can disagree with AZ’s conduct. We can disagree on EU’s conduct. But the bottom line is that whether you are British or from the European continent, we all just want to get vaccinated. Some users trying to legitimise some giant conspiracy by the EU (with the help of US and some EFTA countries) to destroy AZ’s credibility as a viable vaccine company without evidence is not helpful.
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Possibly although some local authorities have been rolling out the jabs to teachers regardless of their age.
Anyone concerned by the MASSIVE acceleration of the pandemic in India, during the two last weeks? Any lad from there can shed light on this please?
Also, the situation in Brazil seems to be tragic. 
Indeed, I was just coming to post this.
https://twitter.com/andrew_croxford/status/1375186710682812418
https://twitter.com/rcr_pereira/status/1375184232679682058
Interesting that. All my schools have requested vaccination (and included me) and have all been told no so far. Which are please? Cheers