Is The EU Really Trying To Steal The UK's Covid Vaccines?

Welcome to the vaccine wars.

Anyone reading the front pages this morning will have noticed a new front has opened in the fight against Covid-19: instead of battling the virus, states now appear to be battling each other.

The row centres on supplies of precious vaccines, with the EU and Britain both making their cases to the manufacturer of the AstraZeneca/Oxford jabs about who should receive it first.

What are the papers saying?

Almost all of Thursday’s front pages lead on the row over vaccines, but some have gone in a bit more... patriotically than others.

What’s the row about?

In short, AstraZeneca – which developed and manufactures the Oxford vaccine – has not been able make enough jabs in time to fulfil the contracts it signed with the EU.

Is this a case of vaccine nationalism?

It’s actually more of a case of factory nationalism.

AstraZeneca manufactures the jabs in four different factories. Two are in the UK and two are in the EU.

The British government has said it expects those manufactured in the UK to be administered in the UK.

But the EU disagrees.

European health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Wednesday: “There is no hierarchy of the factories. You are aware in the contracts there are four factories listed but it does not differentiate between the UK and Europe.

“The UK factories are part of our advance purchase agreements and that is why they have to deliver.”

But what’s the problem if we have two factories each?

The problem has arisen because of a “production glitch” at a factory in Belgium.

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot has said this issue means “we are basically two months behind where we want to be” in terms of supplying the EU with vaccines.

So it’s AstraZeneca’s fault?

Not according to AstraZeneca.

Well they would say that, right?

True, but it’s hard to disagree with their...

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