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Comment by mns | Hacker News Reader

So we've been in a 5 month lockdown already in Germany, all of it to stop the spread of the virus with huge costs to the country, and now the comment that I replied to is saying that "I think this is part of political cover for the failing". Meaning that Germany and the EU, which have been doing everything that they can to stop this, are now somehow involved in a political cover to get some sort of revenge on the UK/AstraZeneca at the cost of the people that would be affected by COVID?

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But they did not do everything they can. They did not expedite AZ vaccine approval, they are messing up the rollout, they tried to negotiate prices instead of securing vaccines at all costs. They made a whole theatre about AZ deliveries and almost created an international crisis around Ireland..but no, no political aspect to it, none at all..

I don't think they are trying to get revenge. They are trying to cover for their own failings. By any reasonable means, the vaccine rollout in continental Europe in relation to the wealth and logistics available compared to US/UK is a complete failure.

so how does further slowing vaccine progress, making it even less likely they'll meet the adjusted goals and anouncements, "cover for their failings", especially if there is a good chance it'll turn out it was unnecessary? At least right now people's reaction for sure isn't "oh too bad then, not your fault".

AZ vaccine is flawed => slow rollout isn’t bad after all, maybe even a good thing in the end.

Goals and announcements have already been missed, and it turning out to be unnecessary can be muddied, or buried.

Assuming this is indeed politics, there are a lot of positives to this type of move in an already shit situation.

>which have been doing everything that they can to stop this

Except, you know, order enough vaccines for their population. Other than that though, everything that they can!

Well, as of early January the EU ordered almost twice as many doses as needed. They, and by that I mean the member states more than the EU, screwed up the distribution and vaccination campaigns.

As I said, no idea whether or not something is wrong with the AZ vaccine.

And yes, governments are doing everything they can. And the screw up with vaccinations. No idea why, because I don't have all the details, but maybe AZ is just coming in time to have been 1) a good scape goat early on when one was needed during the frustration with vaccine deliveries 2) bad at PR 3) earned a bad rep and now everybody is over cautious. And public / media pressure isn't really helping.

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