The start of French medicine Valneva had big news in September: a government contract for 60 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate.
The buyer? The United Kingdom – not the European Union, as would be expected for a company on the banks of the Loire.
“What a real waste,” said Christelle Morancais, president of Pays de la Loire regional council, as she tried to wrap her head around the missed opportunity. The British, she told The Associated Press, “issued a red carpet for this company, helping with finances and establishment. … And we were powerless. ”
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The UK has now ordered another 40 million doses and has options for more from Valneva, which has a plant in Scotland. The EU is still in talks with the company.
That pattern of Britain investing strongly and early on as the EU takes a slower and more cautious approach has become a hallmark of the European vaccine race – and offers a window on problems that have spread the vaccine with the largest trading bloc in the world.
Like other fast-moving countries, negotiating earlier treaties has helped Britain avoid some of the vaccine supply problems facing the EU 27-nation – as when AstraZeneca said it had hit a case production. Valneva President Franck Grimaud told the AP that Britain will receive vaccine doses earlier because they signed it first.
But the UK has also shown speed and flexibility in other areas: Its regulatory body has approved vaccines faster than the EU, and its government has tried to extend the time between shots – allowing the first dose to be dispensed more quickly so that more people can have some protection quickly.
The EU has been more cautious on both counts. While a bloc continues to receive and distribute vaccines – unlike much of the world – it has so far been left in the UK’s backyard mirror. Britain has given at least one view to about 15 per cent of its population, compared to about 3 per cent in the bloc. This is not just a matter of pride: The EU has already lost more than 490,000 of its 450 million people to the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University, and no more. tested before they died.
Diane Wanten, from Alken, Belgium, survived a bout with COVID-19 which she underwent intensive care in the spring of last year. The 62-year-old is now desperately hoping for pictures of herself and her husband Francesco, who has Parkinson’s Disease. “If there is a vaccine for me tomorrow, I will respond,” she said.
Instead, “it’s Britain with a high head and shoulders above the rest,” Wanten said. “I ask myself why things are possible there and not here in Belgium? ”
Britain has its own struggles: a death toll of 112,000 in a 67 million country and enough that says the Conservative government should have moved faster to fight the virus. However, he cited Valneva’s treaty as a testament to his vaccination strategy – and his decision to leave the EU.
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“We have supported many horses – no matter where they come from,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock. “It’s a great example of what we can achieve together, working as one United Kingdom.”
Meanwhile, the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen was at the European Parliament, answering questions about how things could have gone so wrong in an effort that should have been ‘shows how the EU is making its 27 members stronger.
She acknowledged the EU’s mistakes – in particular the threat, eventually withdrawn, of border checks on vaccines from an EU member Ireland to Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. But she was adamant. that the deliberate effort of the block would be successful.
“I see this as a marathon in which we finished the first few kilometers,” she said.
But in Marseille, France, the head of the intensive care ward at La Timone Hospital fears the EU collapsed at the starting line.
“It was clear that he was expected. Then a lack of doses. Then we didn’t vaccinate the right people, ”said Dr Julien Carvelli.
When the virus caught up with the continent a year ago and the race for vaccination began, the EU dominated its size as an asset in vaccine negotiations. The block got competitive prices, but that took time – and the difference is a few months spent.
When the EU had a big row with AstraZeneca last month over the company’s announcement it would only be able to deliver 31 million doses of the first batch of the promised 80 million batches, CEO Pascal Soriot said “the UK treaty was signed three months before the time of the European vaccine Treaty. So with the UK we have three more months to fix all the tips. ”
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Luck has also taken part. Many vaccination contracts were signed before anyone knew which pictures would even work or be extracted in the first place. The EU signed a deal with German-based CureVac in November while the UK had just signed a contract a few days ago – but, so far, that hasn’t happened because the company still testing their vaccine.
The EU was also slower to approve vaccines, opting for a longer process that led to a more comprehensive review by the European Medicines Agency, rather than an emergency approval, to ensure greater public confidence, a decision that he still defends.
As a result, Britain began issuing vaccine shots on 8 December while the EU did not get going until December 27. It has not gone up since then.
French Minister of Europe Clement Beaune said, “Britain has taken great risks.”
If that is true, it is paid off. The head of Britain’s health last week said a new study suggests that a single dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine offers strong protection for 12 weeks against the virus, saying that supports a strategy the government’s debate delayed the second sight.
Compare that to France, which changed by extending the time between doses but decided not to. Other EU countries have sometimes withheld doses to ensure that a person gets a second sight at a given time, thus denying the first sight to others.
Several EU countries have also proven to be even more dangerous than the cautious EMA, which the AstraZeneca vaccine has approved for use in the EU for all adults, despite some questions about whether data were sufficient about its effect on the elderly.
Germany, France and Sweden have decided to continue giving the AstraZeneca vaccine to people 65 and older. Belgium has gone further, restricting use to those under 55, even though it means carefully crafted vaccine plans need to be changed.
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However, the EU’s approach may have prevented other problems. Without a strategy, smaller and poorer EU countries could have struggled to get vaccines and pay. With open borders, different national approaches could lead to chaos.
Despite a slow start, von der Leyen promises that 70 percent of adults will get the vaccine block by the end of their summer stands.
For now, he leaves Catherine Moureaux, the supreme ruler of the Brussels town of Molenbeek, overseeing an empty vaccination center. But she doesn’t complain.
“We should not regret that Europe is playing carefully,” said Moureaux. “I think this is a good thing. ”
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Angela Charlton in Paris and Daniel Cole in Marseille, France, contributed to this report.
© 2021 Canadian Press