So, coronavirus...

Where goats go to escape
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Sandstorm
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GogLais wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 1:56 pm
One of the good things about being old(ish) is not worrying about long-term side-effects.
Would you rather survive 1 x blood clot from a vaccine that has little lasting effect like a stroke
or
live for the last 7 years of your life with nuked lungs from surviving Covid19, so that walking to the kettle leaves you exhausted?

"Nah, I'll wait for the Modera vaccine in the autumn please, Doc." :crazy:
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Hal Jordan
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Got my first vaccine today. Hooray for me!
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Sandstorm
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Hal Jordan wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 3:12 pm Got my first vaccine today. Hooray for me!
:thumbup:
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Marylandolorian
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A bit of humor in this serious topic

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Saint
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419K doses yesterday - not bad for a Sunday

4.2 million doses delivered last week
Lobby
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This, allied to this morning's statement from EU officials that their argument is with AZ and not the UK “The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame,” said an EU official. “It’s about everyone finding agreement with a company that has been over-selling its production capacity.” suggests that the Eu may be rowing back on its threats to block vaccine exports to the UK.
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Hal Jordan
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Sandstorm wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 3:18 pm
Hal Jordan wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 3:12 pm Got my first vaccine today. Hooray for me!
:thumbup:
Feeling slightly crap (and milking it for sympathy). My daughter has come in and asked if I'm dead yet.
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fishfoodie
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Lobby wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:57 pm

This, allied to this morning's statement from EU officials that their argument is with AZ and not the UK “The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame,” said an EU official. “It’s about everyone finding agreement with a company that has been over-selling its production capacity.” suggests that the Eu may be rowing back on its threats to block vaccine exports to the UK.
What it comes down to from an EU position is; that the UK is now vaccinating, ostensibly health, low risk citizens, with vaccines that have been exported from the EU; while the EU states haven't been able to vaccinate all it's high-risk groups.

That's isn't right.
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Raggs
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fishfoodie wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:45 pm
Lobby wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:57 pm

This, allied to this morning's statement from EU officials that their argument is with AZ and not the UK “The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame,” said an EU official. “It’s about everyone finding agreement with a company that has been over-selling its production capacity.” suggests that the Eu may be rowing back on its threats to block vaccine exports to the UK.
What it comes down to from an EU position is; that the UK is now vaccinating, ostensibly health, low risk citizens, with vaccines that have been exported from the EU; while the EU states haven't been able to vaccinate all it's high-risk groups.

That's isn't right.
How long passed before they approved the vaccines after the UK had? How many doses of AZ do they have sat in fridges because people have refused to accept it?

The UK is vaccinating as fast as it receives doses, the evidence suggests the EU is not managing the same.
Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
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Hong Kong
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Yes you are...

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Raggs
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I love the idea that if you do something for 10 days, your covid symptoms will pass... not that a cold/flu/covid would generally do the same...
Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Lobby
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fishfoodie wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:45 pm
Lobby wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:57 pm

This, allied to this morning's statement from EU officials that their argument is with AZ and not the UK “The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame,” said an EU official. “It’s about everyone finding agreement with a company that has been over-selling its production capacity.” suggests that the Eu may be rowing back on its threats to block vaccine exports to the UK.
What it comes down to from an EU position is; that the UK is now vaccinating, ostensibly health, low risk citizens, with vaccines that have been exported from the EU; while the EU states haven't been able to vaccinate all it's high-risk groups.

That's isn't right.
The EU's vaccine procurement programme dithered and delayed because it prioritised price over speed, and tried to balance out orders between German and French suppliers. Even though the AZ vaccine is delivered at cost, it failed to sign contracts until 3 months after the UK, and also failed to agree as strict contract conditions with AZ as the UK. The UK has also had significant shortfalls in vaccine delivery; we just happen to be way ahead of the EU because purchasing, manufacture and approval happened earlier, and so we have already dealt with the problems the EU is now experiencing.

If the EU had a solid legal case that AZ wasn't meeting its contractual obligations, it would take AZ to court, rather than spread disinformation about the vaccine and threaten to seize vaccine shipments.
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Saint
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Raggs wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:50 pm
fishfoodie wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:45 pm
Lobby wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:57 pm

This, allied to this morning's statement from EU officials that their argument is with AZ and not the UK “The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame,” said an EU official. “It’s about everyone finding agreement with a company that has been over-selling its production capacity.” suggests that the Eu may be rowing back on its threats to block vaccine exports to the UK.
What it comes down to from an EU position is; that the UK is now vaccinating, ostensibly health, low risk citizens, with vaccines that have been exported from the EU; while the EU states haven't been able to vaccinate all it's high-risk groups.

That's isn't right.
How long passed before they approved the vaccines after the UK had? How many doses of AZ do they have sat in fridges because people have refused to accept it?

The UK is vaccinating as fast as it receives doses, the evidence suggests the EU is not managing the same.
Yeah. This argument doesn't really make any sense as it basically means everyone needs to go at the pace of the slowest vaccinating country.

It also completely ignores that most of the high risk groups in the UK still need 2nd doses

On the flip side, we could send the entire production capacity of AZ in the UK to the EU for the next year and still barely make a dent in their requirements. Then I don't think anything else being manufactured in the UK that actually might be of volume to help out is on the EU order list. Both Novavax and Valesca (if successful) will manufacture at likely higher volumes in the UK than AZ, and anyway, the UK has pledged all unused orders to Covax
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Saint
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Raggs wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:06 pm I love the idea that if you do something for 10 days, your covid symptoms will pass... not that a cold/flu/covid would generally do the same...
Frankly, his understanding of Occam's Razor at the end was perfect.
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fishfoodie
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Lobby wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:10 pm
fishfoodie wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:45 pm
Lobby wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:57 pm

This, allied to this morning's statement from EU officials that their argument is with AZ and not the UK “The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame,” said an EU official. “It’s about everyone finding agreement with a company that has been over-selling its production capacity.” suggests that the Eu may be rowing back on its threats to block vaccine exports to the UK.
What it comes down to from an EU position is; that the UK is now vaccinating, ostensibly health, low risk citizens, with vaccines that have been exported from the EU; while the EU states haven't been able to vaccinate all it's high-risk groups.

That's isn't right.
The EU's vaccine procurement programme dithered and delayed because it prioritised price over speed, and tried to balance out orders between German and French suppliers. Even though the AZ vaccine is delivered at cost, it failed to sign contracts until 3 months after the UK, and also failed to agree as strict contract conditions with AZ as the UK. The UK has also had significant shortfalls in vaccine delivery; we just happen to be way ahead of the EU because purchasing, manufacture and approval happened earlier, and so we have already dealt with the problems the EU is now experiencing.

If the EU had a solid legal case that AZ wasn't meeting its contractual obligations, it would take AZ to court, rather than spread disinformation about the vaccine and threaten to seize vaccine shipments.

The EU is exporting vaccines to the UK; while EU, high-risk citizens haven't been vaccinated !

How many vaccines has the UK exported to the EU ?

I don't like the fact that vaccines have become a Political issue; but that's where we are; & there are a few hundred cunts in Westminster who are doing their best to make a bad situation worse.

What they & the UK should be thinking over; is not the next 5 months; but the next 5-10 years.

What happens if Covid-27 rolls around, & the only efficient vaccine is being manufactured in say, Romania. How will the UK react to French Politicians spouting on about how if the UK stayed in the EU; their economy would be open sooner, & their citizens wouldn't be dying ?
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Fangle
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It was reported today that my state, Georgia, had the fewest new cases since June last year.
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Calculon
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Fangle wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:58 pm It was reported today that my state, Georgia, had the fewest new cases since June last year.
:thumbup: how are feeling after your second Pfizer dose?
Rinkals
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Fangle wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:58 pm It was reported today that my state, Georgia, had the fewest new cases since June last year.
That really is interesting.

I'm assuming that Georgia is Trump Heartland and that resistance to mask wearing and lockdown is strong?

What would be the reason for that? Warmer weather? less indoor activities? fewer Trump rallies?
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Raggs
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Let's get something straight. The eu isn't exporting any vaccine. Neither is the uk. Private companies are exporting vaccine as agreed in contracts. They'd have no reason to prioritise the uk on a "feels" basis, in fact quite the opposite, so therefore it must be contractual.
Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
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Insane_Homer
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Lobby
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Raggs wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:23 am Let's get something straight. The eu isn't exporting any vaccine. Neither is the uk. Private companies are exporting vaccine as agreed in contracts. They'd have no reason to prioritise the uk on a "feels" basis, in fact quite the opposite, so therefore it must be contractual.
There is also no contractual basis for the EU's claims about 'reciprocity'; it is an emotional argument being used by the EU because there is no legal basis for them to demand either that AZ supplies it with vaccines manufactured in the UK, or that AZ stop fulfilling its contracts with the UK with vaccines manufactured in the EU. It sounds good, and has been seized upon by the FBPE crowd, but it is meaningless in commercial terms.
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Saint
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fishfoodie wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:55 pm
Lobby wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:10 pm
fishfoodie wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:45 pm

What it comes down to from an EU position is; that the UK is now vaccinating, ostensibly health, low risk citizens, with vaccines that have been exported from the EU; while the EU states haven't been able to vaccinate all it's high-risk groups.

That's isn't right.
The EU's vaccine procurement programme dithered and delayed because it prioritised price over speed, and tried to balance out orders between German and French suppliers. Even though the AZ vaccine is delivered at cost, it failed to sign contracts until 3 months after the UK, and also failed to agree as strict contract conditions with AZ as the UK. The UK has also had significant shortfalls in vaccine delivery; we just happen to be way ahead of the EU because purchasing, manufacture and approval happened earlier, and so we have already dealt with the problems the EU is now experiencing.

If the EU had a solid legal case that AZ wasn't meeting its contractual obligations, it would take AZ to court, rather than spread disinformation about the vaccine and threaten to seize vaccine shipments.

The EU is exporting vaccines to the UK; while EU, high-risk citizens haven't been vaccinated !

How many vaccines has the UK exported to the EU ?

I don't like the fact that vaccines have become a Political issue; but that's where we are; & there are a few hundred cunts in Westminster who are doing their best to make a bad situation worse.

What they & the UK should be thinking over; is not the next 5 months; but the next 5-10 years.

What happens if Covid-27 rolls around, & the only efficient vaccine is being manufactured in say, Romania. How will the UK react to French Politicians spouting on about how if the UK stayed in the EU; their economy would be open sooner, & their citizens wouldn't be dying ?
The UK is thinking this over and making significant investments to change things for the future. There's a huge amount of direct government money going into building out infrastructure right now so that as a country we simply won't be anywhere near as dependent on third countries for vaccine supplies, from the VMIC in Harwell to the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Centre in Braintree, through to direct investments in manufacturing facilities for Novavax and Valneva. Even with all of that though, their simply will never be real capacity in the UK to provide any sort of bulk export capability for the rest of the world - the scale being built in the UK will be to provide for the UK and hopefully provide some marginal assistance to a global effort.

That's why the government is emphasising the other things that the UK brings to the party, such as the ability to rapidly spin up Phase III trials, MHRAs expertise in rolling reviews, etc.
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Sandstorm
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Raggs wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:23 am Let's get something straight. The eu isn't exporting any vaccine. Neither is the uk. Private companies are exporting vaccine as agreed in contracts. They'd have no reason to prioritise the uk on a "feels" basis, in fact quite the opposite, so therefore it must be contractual.
Price.

UK pays £3 per AZ jab
EU pays £1.59

Money talks
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Raggs
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Sandstorm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:49 am
Raggs wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:23 am Let's get something straight. The eu isn't exporting any vaccine. Neither is the uk. Private companies are exporting vaccine as agreed in contracts. They'd have no reason to prioritise the uk on a "feels" basis, in fact quite the opposite, so therefore it must be contractual.
Price.

UK pays £3 per AZ jab
EU pays £1.59

Money talks
Where's that from? I've seen the leaks on what the eu has paid but not what the uk paid.

But yes, buying in greater bulk helps. I reckon 50% vaccinated already will pay off that difference soon enough though.
Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
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Tichtheid
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I had a first dose of the AZ vaccine on Saturday, I had symptoms of a cold on Sunday which lasted through to yesterday. I don't know if this was a side effect or if I just had a cold.

The vaccination point on my arm is a wee bit tender, but otherwise all good.
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Saint
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Sandstorm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:49 am
Raggs wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:23 am Let's get something straight. The eu isn't exporting any vaccine. Neither is the uk. Private companies are exporting vaccine as agreed in contracts. They'd have no reason to prioritise the uk on a "feels" basis, in fact quite the opposite, so therefore it must be contractual.
Price.

UK pays £3 per AZ jab
EU pays £1.59

Money talks
I was under the impression that at least part of the reason why the UK cost is higher per dose is that the facilities producing in the UK are smaller, so economies of scale aren't coming into play
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Insane_Homer
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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... um=twitter
Covid travel rules will include 'Stanley Johnson loophole' for second homes

Updated regulations will allow people to leave UK to prepare second homes for sale or rent
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Fangle
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Calculon wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 5:51 am
Fangle wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:58 pm It was reported today that my state, Georgia, had the fewest new cases since June last year.
:thumbup: how are feeling after your second Pfizer dose?
No problems. But looking back maybe some lethargy on the next morning.
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Sandstorm
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Raggs wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:52 am
Sandstorm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:49 am
Raggs wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:23 am Let's get something straight. The eu isn't exporting any vaccine. Neither is the uk. Private companies are exporting vaccine as agreed in contracts. They'd have no reason to prioritise the uk on a "feels" basis, in fact quite the opposite, so therefore it must be contractual.
Price.

UK pays £3 per AZ jab
EU pays £1.59

Money talks
Where's that from? I've seen the leaks on what the eu has paid but not what the uk paid.

But yes, buying in greater bulk helps. I reckon 50% vaccinated already will pay off that difference soon enough though.
The UK is believed to have spent between £24 and £28 per dose on the Moderna jab, the Daily Mail reports. The domestically produced Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine cost the government around £3 per jab, according to the BBC, while the Pfizer/BioNTech jab has a price tag of around £15.
Meanwhile, Belgium’s Budget State Secretary Eva De Bleeker gave an insight into what the EU is paying when she accidentally tweeted a table last month that showed the price of each jab. The now-deleted tweet revealed that the EU is handing over €1.78 (£1.59) for each dose of the Oxford vaccine and €12 (£10.60) for the Pfizer version.

https://www.theweek.co.uk/951750/what-d ... -pays-what
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Sandstorm
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Insane_Homer wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:13 am https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... um=twitter
Covid travel rules will include 'Stanley Johnson loophole' for second homes

Updated regulations will allow people to leave UK to prepare second homes for sale or rent
"The exemption allows people to travel abroad “in connection with the purchase, sale, letting or rental of a residential property”. Those activities include visiting an estate agent, developer sales office or show home, viewing residential properties to rent or buy, and preparing a property for moving in."

FFS, this Govt is actually a bunch of useless cunts :crazy:
GogLais
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My son in his early 40s has just got a date for his jab. I can take the piss out of him for being middle-aged now.
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Sandstorm
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GogLais wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:13 am My son in his early 40s has just got a date for his jab. I can take the piss out of him for being middle-aged now.
:lol:
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JM2K6
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Rinkals wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 6:18 am
Fangle wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:58 pm It was reported today that my state, Georgia, had the fewest new cases since June last year.
That really is interesting.

I'm assuming that Georgia is Trump Heartland and that resistance to mask wearing and lockdown is strong?

What would be the reason for that? Warmer weather? less indoor activities? fewer Trump rallies?
Georgia flipped blue for the senate seat, and given the ridiculous gerrymandering, the national election results there were v close. Calling it Trump Heartland is probably some way off the mark. The Trump heartlands are the rust belt plus Florida and a few other places.
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Hal Jordan
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Sandstorm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:08 am
Insane_Homer wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:13 am https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... um=twitter
Covid travel rules will include 'Stanley Johnson loophole' for second homes

Updated regulations will allow people to leave UK to prepare second homes for sale or rent
"The exemption allows people to travel abroad “in connection with the purchase, sale, letting or rental of a residential property”. Those activities include visiting an estate agent, developer sales office or show home, viewing residential properties to rent or buy, and preparing a property for moving in."

FFS, this Govt is actually a bunch of useless cunts :crazy:
I'm not sure 'useless' is the correct term. They are hugely efficient, but only in very venal and specific ways.
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Paddington Bear
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Sandstorm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:08 am
Insane_Homer wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:13 am https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... um=twitter
Covid travel rules will include 'Stanley Johnson loophole' for second homes

Updated regulations will allow people to leave UK to prepare second homes for sale or rent
"The exemption allows people to travel abroad “in connection with the purchase, sale, letting or rental of a residential property”. Those activities include visiting an estate agent, developer sales office or show home, viewing residential properties to rent or buy, and preparing a property for moving in."

FFS, this Govt is actually a bunch of useless cunts :crazy:
Jeez that's a wanky loophole. Still, the Sunday Times mentioned they're selling properties in Sicily for 1 Euro...
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot, But he'll remember with advantages, What feats he did that day
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Raggs
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Sandstorm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:05 am
Raggs wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:52 am
Sandstorm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:49 am

Price.

UK pays £3 per AZ jab
EU pays £1.59

Money talks
Where's that from? I've seen the leaks on what the eu has paid but not what the uk paid.

But yes, buying in greater bulk helps. I reckon 50% vaccinated already will pay off that difference soon enough though.
The UK is believed to have spent between £24 and £28 per dose on the Moderna jab, the Daily Mail reports. The domestically produced Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine cost the government around £3 per jab, according to the BBC, while the Pfizer/BioNTech jab has a price tag of around £15.
Meanwhile, Belgium’s Budget State Secretary Eva De Bleeker gave an insight into what the EU is paying when she accidentally tweeted a table last month that showed the price of each jab. The now-deleted tweet revealed that the EU is handing over €1.78 (£1.59) for each dose of the Oxford vaccine and €12 (£10.60) for the Pfizer version.

https://www.theweek.co.uk/951750/what-d ... -pays-what
When I chased this down the rabbit hole the first time, the only figure that people seemed to be quoting was the initial pricing put out by AZ, that it would be about £3 a dose. But not specific details to how much a country actually paid for it, and people were putting 2 and 2 together. Especially when the actual price for the EU came out, and people wanted to put the boot in.

And again, to be honest, I'm not worried about paying £3 a dose, if it means that our contract was better setup than the EU's, allowing for earlier delivery and greater completion (though we've not got all we were "promised" either). It's going to save us more money in the longer term.
Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Lemoentjie
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Sandstorm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:49 am
Raggs wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:23 am Let's get something straight. The eu isn't exporting any vaccine. Neither is the uk. Private companies are exporting vaccine as agreed in contracts. They'd have no reason to prioritise the uk on a "feels" basis, in fact quite the opposite, so therefore it must be contractual.
Price.

UK pays £3 per AZ jab
EU pays £1.59

Money talks
Completely retarded, considering lockdowns cost the EU economies billions and billions of Euros (I'd guess over 20 billion per week) to save a couple of hundred millions pounds.

Clearly the negotiators were told 'you need to come out with a win' and focused completely on lowering the price, ignoring that the 6 hours you spend negotiating over the price you lose any benefit from it!
Lemoentjie
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Other vaccine news: the US is lobbying in Brazil to stop the Brazilians buying Sputnik.

Sputnik costs less than $10 per dose. Now look at price of Pfizer and Moderna, much higher.

Does the US care about the lives of Brazilians, or about lining the pockets of Pfizer shareholders?

Also see why AstraZeneca isn't allowed in the US. Every dose of AZ given is a loss of $15-20 for Pfizer or Moderna, and a saving of $15-20 for the US taxpayer. Guess who wins.
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Saint
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It would appear that the lobbying is intense
The independent board that reviews data from multiple Covid-19 vaccine candidates has expressed concern over AstraZeneca's announcements on its latest findings, according to a statement posted early Tuesday by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"Late Monday, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) notified NIAID, BARDA, and AstraZeneca that it was concerned by information released by AstraZeneca on initial data from its COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial," the statement says. "The DSMB expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.

"We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible."

AstraZeneca has not responded to CNN's request for comment.

Early Monday, AstraZeneca issued a press release saying its Covid-19 vaccine showed 79% efficacy against symptomatic disease and 100% efficacy against severe disease and hospitalization, citing long-awaited US trial data. The latter figure was based on five events in the placebo arm, NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a coronavirus briefing Monday.

The DSMB is an independent expert group that sees trial data before the pharmaceutical companies, the doctors running the trials, or even the US Food and Drug Administration. It has the power advise a company of positive interim findings, or to halt a trial over safety concerns. That's what happened to the AstraZeneca trial in September after a study participant developed neurological symptoms, for example.

Last year, the National Institutes of Health appointed a common DSMB to monitor Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials that were being funded by the federal government — including AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. This DSMB has 10 to 15 members with specialties including vaccine development, statistics and ethics.

DSMBs sometimes disagree with investigators over the interpretation of trial results, Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said in a statement to the Science Media Centre in the UK. But that's usually done in private, he said, "so this is unprecedented in my opinion."

However, he noted, he isn't concerned unless there's a safety issue, "which does not appear to be the case."
dpedin
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Week off work and watching Politics Today on BBC now - young female journalists who knows what she is talking about getting talked over by Tory MP Steve Brine - trying to school him on difference between elimination and eradication, impact of long covid19, vaccination levels, etc and he is very unhappy about it. About sums up why we got into the feckin mess we are in.
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