Oxford University has teamed up with an EU company, AstraZeneca, to accept its first huge EU and US orders for a vaccine that will not be ready until early 2021
By Jim W. Dean, Managing Editor
Italy, Germany, France & Netherlands sign deal for up to 400 million Oxford Covid-19 vaccines – Italian health minister[ Editor’s Note: The Covid vaccine sweepstakes has begun. The Oxford entry is by no means the only one in progress, but it has the biggest orders. Many countries will want to create their own so the sales can support their own pandemic infrastructures, and even export if possible.–British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca could be considered the EU entry, but with a special twist, in that they are offering their product at cost, a smart public relations move. China, Russia, and even Israel have their own vaccines in progress. But note that AstraZeneca has already chosen a US manufacturing partner.–This should benefit us all, as one vaccine might end up being the most effective, or be better for their ethnic blend. But there is another long term benefit for us, in that the pharmaceutical companies are going to have their Covid oars in the water.–They will be doing things like working closely with the WHO and national governments to keep track of how the virus is mutating. They should even be using AI to create predictions on how likely it is to mutate, so preliminary vaccine planing can be ongoing to shorten the response time for the next one.–The public will expect governments to stay ahead of the curve after having been caught unprepared for Covid-19. More organization and planning will be expected for future pandemics, or a political price may be paid for mistakes at election time. The US could possibly be the first to put that on display in November, when Mr. “It’s all a big hoax” faces the voters.–After Trump’s early flop on Covid, he made his second big mistake by hogging the microphone as the Great Savior for the country via his daily micromanaging coronavirus conferences.–But he got crazier and crazier as time went on, seeing the shocked facial expressions of his team (minus VP Pence) to prove it. Comedian Sarah Cooper parodies Trump on Twitter with her creative impersonations of his worst gaffes, her work a legend now.–We have all paid greatly with his incompetence, and it is only fair that he and his enablers do, also. China is now, once again, running circles around the US, showing how quickly it is moving to contain the new Covid infections in Beijing.–Instead of keeping the WHO stronger for the next potential round, Trump has weakened it by his attempt to pass off his failure to China and the WHO. At the end of the day, only his redneck groupies could be standing behind him… Jim W. Dean ]
Four EU countries have signed a contract with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to produce enough Oxford University vaccines to rid the continent of Covid-19 infections, the Italian health minister said.–
Under the agreement, British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will produce up to 400 million doses of the vaccine, which is enough for “the whole population of Europe,” Roberto Speranza wrote on Facebook.
We have reached an agreement with the Inclusive Vaccines Alliance to supply up to 400 million doses of @UniofOxford’s potential #COVID19 vaccine to Europe at no profit https://bit.ly/3hnHFtJ
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The minister said that trials for the vaccine, which was developed by Oxford University, are set to be completed this fall, and the first doses will be available by the end of the year. “The vaccine is the only definitive solution to Covid-19,” he wrote.
AstraZeneca has a deal with the US government to supply the country with 300 million doses of the vaccine. Earlier this week, the company signed an agreement with American firm Emergent BioSolutions to be its manufacturing partner in the US.
Various nations and companies have been racing to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 7.6 million people globally, and killed over 426,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
