Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by interdrift 1998 days ago
Brexit might have some benefits after all. Let the competition begin!
2 comments

The vaccine was developed prior to the end of the transition agreement, and the UK already had protocols for approving vaccines before rest of the EU (see Pfizer).

What's this got to do with Brexit?

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has unfortunately been heavily politicized in the UK. The reporting around it has always sounded a bit nationalistic.

For the past few months, the government has been using every opportunity to justify Brexit. The vaccine approval process being one of those.

I disagree. I don't think it's been "heavily" politicized, or even moderately, though I'm happy for you to point me to a clip or link of the Government taking claim for it?

> The reporting around it has always sounded a bit nationalistic.

The press have certainly reported that it's British developed, and why not? I'd say they equally reported that the Moderna vaccine was developed by Turkish Germans/German Turks.

Just jumping in here to share one example: one unit inside No.10 tried to get the union jack printed on this vaccine (but appears to have been unsuccessful): https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/oxford-university-ast...
I was not aware of this. I've tended to avoid the press other than the BBC due to the overwhelming and relentless negativity of the last 9 months.
https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-brexit-did...

Matt Hancock, secretary of state for department of health and social care: "It is absolutely clear that because we’ve left the EU I was able to change the law so that the UK alone could make this authorisation decision. So because we’ve left the EU, we’ve been able to move faster."

See also Jacob monumental fucking bellend Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries who made similar claims.

That you don't like someone's politics does not make what they say inherently false.

If Rees-Mogg, Dorries, and Hancock are wrong, then demonstrate it.

> And its chief executive, Dr June Raine, said on Wednesday that "we have been able to authorise the supply of this vaccine using provisions under European law, which exist until 1 January".

The full summary is below. But the short answer is the regulators who did the work are saying it makes no difference

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55163730

Any EU member can always approve any vaccine independently.
It's almost like EU countries tend to trust the joint efforts and don't generally go at it alone.

Well, with the obvious exception that happened this year (Brexit).