28 January 2021: Are the EU and the U.K. starting a “vaccine war”?

28 January 2021: All key indicators continue to rise. In the week to 24 January on average 2,168 people tested positive each day. The figure is up 9% on the week. In the same period hospitalizations are up with 18% and number of fatalities with 7%. Meanwhile, as vaccine production falls behind schedule, and most European countries are lagging in inoculating people, the EU and AstraZeneca are on a collision course. The EU has been hoping that the arrival of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine would hasten the pace of vaccinations, but AstraZeneca told the European Union at a teleconference last week that it was going to slash its scheduled deliveries to 31 million doses by the end of March, less than half of the 80 million doses than what the company initially promised. European officials have implied that AstraZeneca, headquartered in Britain, sent vaccines to Britain that were meant for the continent instead. Relations between Britain and the EU were already testy after more than four years of wrangling over Brexit and this for sure doesn’t help to build a workable relationship in the future. It’s sad to see that where science is succeeding common sense, diplomacy and solidarity is failing. The good news is that after a limited delay in the production of vaccines, the Pfizer plant in Belgium has returned to its normal production schedule. Today’s picture is another vignette from life in Ghent during this unprecedented crisis – Ghent, Belgium.