Vaccine War!

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Friday 29th January was a very significant day for two countries I hold dear. It was an auspicious day for Sri Lanka as it started the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 with the Oxford vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca, the first recipient being Dr Ananda Wijewickrama, rightly so. After all, he gave able leadership to the treatment of patients with Covid-19 keeping the mortality rate very low compared to many countries. I am sure Sri Lanka will win the Covid-war too because former war-winning Defence Secretary is now the President. Although the latest arsenal against this nasty virus was the gift of our Big Brother, I am sure President Gota would find ways to vaccinate all in need.

The UK, however, faced a different fate alltogether. It had a war declared on it by the European Union, the bone of contention being the same Oxford A/Z vaccine! Perhaps, the EU is fuming because the UK has instituted one of the best vaccination programmes while the unelected bureaucracy in Brussels has failed miserably in obtaining adequate supplies for the member states. Although the UK could have joined the joint-purchase programme devised in Brussels, it opted to go on its own utilising the new freedom obtained following Brexit, which has paid dividends.

The UK failed initially in controlling the spread of the epidemic, but it was the first country in the world to start vaccination, giving the very first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 jab to Margaret Keenan on 8th December, a week before her 91st birthday. Interestingly, concerns were expressed at that stage too, both by the EU and the US that the UK approved the vaccine too soon! Since then, over 8 million, almost 13% of the population, have received their first dose. Population in UK is placed in 10 groups, according to risk, and almost all in the first two groups (Group 1-Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults and Group 2-All those aged 80 years and older and frontline health and social care workers) have received the first jab and those in group 3, those over 75 years, are now offered the first jab.

Glancing through the headlines of the British Newspapers, on Saturday 30th January, I was astonished at the idiocy of the unelected bureaucracy of the European Council. I was happy that I had voted for Brexit. Some articles were critical of people like me who had voted for Brexit. They blamed us, old nationalists, for voting to sacrifice the future of the young! If the young did not care to vote, whose fault was it? I remember a piece written by a Canadian journalist based in London who mocked Britain by claiming that the EU was free at last! If I remember right, he stated that 48% of turkeys did not vote for Christmas, the usual liberalist twist when democracy does not favour their choice! He conveniently forgot that percentagewise, more voted for Brexit than for the spectacular win of Biden: 51.9 and 51.3 respectively!

BBC News website said it all under title “Newspaper headlines: ‘EU vaccine war explodes’, and Macron ‘attacks’ Oxford jab’. The tabloid, Daily Express had the headline “EU chiefs behaving like the mafia” Not to be outdone another tabloid, Daily Mail had the banner headline “EU vaccines war explodes” and went on to state that the EU was accused of dramatically escalating the ‘vaccine war’ against the UK. The headline in the Daily Telegraph was “Fury at Macrons attack on Oxford jab”, which focused on the “fury” provoked by Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab is “quasi-ineffective” in the over 65s. Macron was criticised by experts for not understanding science.

In an interview with The Guardian, which is vehemently anti-Brexit, Macron warned Boris Johnson’s government to decide where its alliances lie – be it with the EU, the US or Singapore! In fact, The Guardian chose to ignore the furore and headlined the interview with “EU will seek to control jab exports, Macron warns UK”!

What was this furore about? Does it concern Sri Lanka? Yes, it does because it is all about the Oxford jab manufactured by AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish drug giant based in the UK. Oxford researchers signed an agreement with AstraZeneca on the understanding that their vaccine would be launched on no-profit basis. This had made it substantially cheaper and has the added advantage that it could be kept in a fridge for weeks.

Whilst trials were in progress, the UK placed the order last May, but the European Council, which got agreement from all states for a joint-purchase plan, placed the order in August. However, the EU regulator approved the Oxford jab only on the day all problems arose. The day before, the German regulator approved it for those under 65, as they were of the opinion that data for over 65s was not strong enough in spite of the Oxford group pointing out that though sufficient numbers of over 65s were not included as the trial was conducted in double quick time, the antibody response in all age groups was similar making it very likely that the vaccine is effective in over 65s as well. EU regulator has accepted this though the German regulator did not! Macron who knows more than experts has his own view!

When AstraZeneca said that due to problems in the manufacturing facility in Belgium, there might be a delay in supply, the EU threatened legal action and allowed member states to prevent export of other vaccines manufactured in their countries to UK. On Friday morning, the EU Council announced the imposition of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is a part of UK, to prevent back-door transport of the vaccines to the UK! During Brexit negotiations, the EU insisted on not having a hard border as it would contravene the Good Friday agreement signed in 1988 ending the violence in Northern Ireland. However, there was a clause in the Brexit agreement that under exceptional circumstances either the EU or the UK could impose this. That exactly is what the EU Council did, even without informing the Prime Ministers of Ireland and UK! Hard to choose between arrogance and stupidity for such an action which had to be reversed soon, as there were protests from all sides! Instead of negotiations, the EU declared war on the UK. Maybe, the EU is envious of the UK, which is doing well.

Giving absolute power to an unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy has created all these problems. What Brits voted for, when they joined the EU, was for a common market, not a political union. Now that it is free, the UK can have as many alliances as it likes. Macron can preach. Who cares: the UK is free at last!