PM opens door to vaccine passports for pubs

 “Papers, please.” (Or, more accurately, “QR code please”.) 

Thursday March 25 2021

By Daniel Capurro, Front Bench Editor

“Papers, please.” (Or, more accurately, “QR code please”.) Is that the phrase set to ring out at pubs across the land? Boris Johnson suggested so in his appearance before the Commons Liaison Committee yesterday. While answering questions on vaccines, the idea of publicans asking for proof of vaccination came up and the Prime Minister responded: "I think that that's the kind of thing – it may be up to individual publicans, it may be up to the landlord." Now, let’s be clear, that’s the worst possible response to the question of vaccine certificates. When your newsletter editor spoke to experts about domestic vaccine passports last month, they were clear that leaving it up to businesses was a terrible idea that would lead to discrimination, confrontation and all-round chaos and unfairness. No 10 was quick to try to clarify the comments, while Government figures pointed to the review that is underway and set to report back on vaccine certificates on June 21. But the idea is clearly floating around in Government that permitting pubs to ask for certificates might allow landlords to ditch social distancing requirements and make more money. At the moment, the roadmap still talks about table service and so on. The most immediate question to arise is obviously one of discrimination. No 10 was very quick to point out that a negative test could take the place of a vaccine for those not eligible (e.g. pregnant women and children). But that doesn’t really address the issue. For one, a test is nowhere near as convenient as a vaccine certificate, and that’s without raising the question of how often tests would need to be taken. But the UK isn’t making vaccines compulsory, and so long as people can reject a vaccine for any reason, denying them services will be ethically dubious. Especially when they are likely to disproportionately come from minority backgrounds. That’s an issue already brought up by unhappy Tory backbenchers, including Steve Baker, who has called vaccine certificates a “ghastly trap”. There’s also the problem raised by the industry itself of quite how pubs and restaurants are meant to enforce these rules. Is it realistic to expect overburdened pub staff to deal with irate un-vaccinated customers? For now, there’s not much clarity as to what will happen and there may not be until the review is published. In the meantime though, it’s just 18 days until pubs can reopen for outdoor service, so at least we’ll have somewhere to debate the idea in person.

European Union Blames AstraZeneca for Its Vaccine Failures

  A leading European Union official has lashed out at the AstraZeneca vaccine company for its massive shortfall in producing doses for the 27-nation bloc ...

JOHANNA GERON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

BREITBART LONDON

23 Mar 2021105

1:36

BRUSSELS (AP) – A leading European Union official has lashed out at the AstraZeneca vaccine company for its massive shortfall in producing doses for the 27-nation bloc, and threatened that any shots produced by them in the EU could be forced to stay there.

Sandra Galina, the chief of the European Commission´s health division, told legislators on Tuesday that while vaccine producers like Pfizer and Moderna have largely met their commitments “the problem has been AstraZeneca. So it´s one contract which we have a serious problem.”

The European Union has been criticized at home and abroad for its slow rollout of its vaccine drive to the citizens, standing at about a third of jabs given to their citizens compared to nations like the United States and United Kingdom.

Galina says the overwhelming responsibility lies with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was supposed to be the workforce of the drive, because it is cheaper and easier to transport and was supposed to delivered in huge amounts in the first half of the year.

“We are not even receiving a quarter of such deliveries as regards this issue,” Galina said, adding AstraZeneca could expect measures from the EU. “We intend, of course, to take action because, you know, this is the issue that cannot be left unattended.”

The EU already closed an advance purchasing agreement with the Anglo-Swedish company in August last year for up to 400 million doses.

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https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/03/23/european-union-blames-astrazeneca-for-its-vaccine-failures/#

*'UK-funded AZ vaccine given to world at COST price' - Hancock erupts at EU's Covid games

MATT HANCOCK has heaped praised on AstraZeneca after weeks of criticism of the vaccine from EU countries and threats ban exports of the jab to the UK.

By DAN FALVEY, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

PUBLISHED: 12:44, Thu, Mar 18, 2021 | UPDATED: 17:04, Thu, Mar 18, 2021

The Health Secretary credited the drugs manufacturer for its work towards helping achieve the goal of global immunity against Covid-19 as he called on Brits to "celebrate" its achievements. He said he was "proud" AstraZeneca had agreed to produce the jab at cost price in order to ensure it was affordable around the world.

"The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine was developed because of UK taxpayers putting the funding into the science, to the development, to the clinical trials," he said in the Commons this afternoon.

"AstraZeneca, with an incredibly bold and generous decision - which we fully support but was their decision - offered this vaccine around the world at cost.

"Working with institutes, like the Serum Institute of India, Oxford and AstraZeneca are providing a vaccine for the whole world.

"They are not taking a profit from it, we are very proud of that fact."

Matt Hancock lavished praise on AstraZeneca (Image: PARLIAMENT.TV/GETTY)

He added: "Let's celebrate what AstraZeneca have done and it only underlines how important it is for everybody to work together in order to keep their populations safe."

His lavishing of praise comes after a multitude of attacks on the jab from the EU.

At the start of February, French President Emmanuel Macron described the vaccine as "quasi-ineffective" while multiple countries banned its use in older people saying there was no evidence to support its use.

Over the past week, over a dozen countries have also suspended the use of the jab completely due to concerns over blood clots.

The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organisation have both dismissed suggestions the blood clots are linked to the jab and have recommended its continued rollout.

At the same time, AstraZeneca has found itself at the heart of a series of attacks from the European Commission after the manufacturer admitted production issues meant it would be unable to supply as many doses to the EU in the months ahead as it had originally promised.

Yesterday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyn threatened to seize control of AstraZeneca's European factories and block exports of its jabs from the continent unless more doses were delivered to the EU.

Speaking in the Commons today, Mr Hancock warned the EU not to break contractual law.

He said: "I think that it is vital that we all work together.

"These supply chains for the manufacture of these vaccines cross borders.

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"They are often global supply chains and it is vital that we work together to deliver them and there is a need for that co-operation and there is of course a need for all countries to respect contract law.

"That is the basis of international trade and I'm sure that the European Union will live up to the commitments and statements that it has made, including President von der Leyen herself who has said that there should not be restrictions on companies when they are fulfilling contractual responsibilities.

"Of course there should not and we fully expect those contracts to be delivered on because there are very significant consequences to breaking contract law."

While Ms von der Leyen has previously given reassurances to Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the continued supply of vaccines from the continent, yesterday she warned exports from the EU could be banned due to the UK rolling out jabs quicker than the bloc.

The Health Secretary warned the EU not to break contractual law (Image: PARLIAMENT.TV)

She said: "We will reflect on whether exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates than us are still proportionate.

"We want reliable deliveries of vaccines, we want increase in the contracts, we want to see reciprocity and proportionality in exports and we are ready to use whatever tool we need to deliver on that.

"This is about making sure that Europe gets its fair share."

Mr Hancock's praise for AstraZeneca came after the health select committee chair, Jeremy Hunt, said it was "incredibly dangerous" of the EU to "make threats to the supplies of vaccines and components, alongside casting aspersions over their safety."

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1411676/uk-vaccine-delay-matt-hancock-commons-statement-covid-vaccine-rollout

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