SAINT-HERBLAIN, France (AP) – French pharmaceutical startup Valneva had big news in September: a government contract for 60 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate.
The buyer? The United Kingdom – not the European Union, as one might expect for a company on the banks of the Loire.
“What a real waste,” said Christelle Morancais, president of the Pays de la Loire regional council, as she tried to wrap her head around the missed opportunity. The British, she told the Associated Press, “launched the red carpet for this company, helping with funding and establishment. … And we were powerless. ”
The UK has now ordered another 40 million doses and has options for more from Valneva, which has a factory in Scotland. The EU is still in talks with the company.
This model of Britain investing aggressively and early, while the EU takes a slower and more cautious approach, has been the hallmark of the vaccine race in Europe – and provides a window into the issues that have led to the launch of vaccination by the most big trading block in the world.
As in other fast-moving countries, earlier contract negotiations helped Britain avoid some of the vaccine supply problems facing the EU-27 – as when AstraZeneca said it had hit a production problem. Valneva President Franck Grimaud told the PA that Britain would receive vaccine doses earlier because it signed first.
But Britain has also shown speed and agility in other areas: its regulatory agency has authorized vaccines faster than the EU, and its government has experienced an extension of time between fires. – allowing them to launch the first doses faster, so that more people can benefit from a certain protection quickly.
The EU has been more cautious in both respects. While the bloc still receives and distributes vaccines, unlike much of the world, it has so far remained in the UK’s rearview mirror. The UK dealt at least one blow to about 15% of its population, compared to about 3% of the bloc. This is not just a matter of pride: the EU has already lost more than 470,000 people out of 450 million due to the pandemic and counted others who were not tested before they died.
Diane Wanten, from Alken, Belgium, survived an attack with COVID-19 that put her in intensive care last spring. The 62-year-old now hopes to be shot for herself and her husband Francesco, who has Parkinson’s. “If there’s a vaccine for me tomorrow, I’ll be in line,” she said.
Instead, “Britain is the towering head and shoulders above the others,” Wanten said. “I always wonder why things are possible there and not here in Belgium?”
Britain has its own struggles: 112,000 dead in a country of 67 million and many who say the Conservative government should have moved faster to fight the virus. However, he celebrated the Valneva contract as a validation of his vaccination strategy – and his decision to leave the EU.
“We have supported many horses – no matter where they come from,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock. “It’s a great example of what we can do together, working as a UK.”
At the same time, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was in the European Parliament, answering questions about how things could have gone so badly in an action that should have shown how the EU strengthens its 27 members. .
She acknowledged the EU’s mistakes – especially a threat, which was eventually withdrawn, border controls on vaccines from EU member Ireland to Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. But she was adamant that the bloc’s deliberate impulse would prove successful.
“I see this as a marathon in which I just finished the first few kilometers,” she said.
But in Marseilles, France, the head of the intensive care unit at La Timone Hospital fears that the EU has crossed the line.
“There was a clear lack of anticipation. Then the lack of doses. Then we didn’t vaccinate the right people, “said Dr. Julien Carvelli.
When the virus took over the continent a year ago and the vaccine race began, the EU trumpeted its size as a trump card in vaccine negotiations. The block got competitive prices, but it took time – and the difference of a few months cost it.
When the EU had a major row with AstraZeneca last month over the company’s announcement, it will be able to deliver only 31 million doses out of a promised first batch of 80 million, CEO Pascal Soriot pointed out that “the UK contract was signed three months before the European vaccine agreement. So with the UK we had three more months to fix all the problems. ”
Luck also played a role. Many vaccine offers were signed before anyone knew which photos would work or come out first, so everyone played. The EU signed a contract with Germany-based CureVac in November, while the UK has just struck a deal – but so far this has not mattered since the company is still testing its vaccine.
The EU has also been slower to approve vaccines, opting for a longer process that has given photos more complete control from the European Medicines Agency, rather than the emergency authorization, to ensure greater public confidence. , a decision he further supports.
As a result, the UK began administering vaccines on 8 December, while the EU did not start until 27 December. He hasn’t caught up since then.
French Europe Minister Clement Beaune said “Britain has taken enormous risks.”
If it’s true, it’s paid. The UK health chief welcomed a new study last week that suggests a single dose of his AstraZeneca vaccine provides strong 12-week protection against the virus, saying it supports the government’s much-debated strategy to delay the second blow.
Compare it to France, which flirted with extending the time between doses, but decided not to. Other EU countries have sometimes held back doses to make sure that a person can get a second shot at some point, thus refusing a first shot for others.
Several EU countries have also been shown to be more at risk than the cautious EMA, which has approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the EU for all adults., despite questions about the existence of sufficient data on its impact on the elderly.
Germany, France and Sweden have decided to give up the AstraZeneca vaccine to those over 65 years of age. Belgium has gone further, restricting use to those under 55, even if it means that carefully established vaccination plans will have to be changed.
However, the EU’s deliberate approach could have prevented other problems. Without a common strategy, smaller and poorer EU nations could have fought for vaccine insurance and payment. With open borders, divergent national approaches could have led to chaos.
Despite the slow start, von der Leyen’s promise to vaccinate 70% of the block’s adults by the end of the summer.
For now, he leaves Catherine Moureaux, the mayor of Molenbeek in Brussels, to oversee an empty vaccination center. But don’t complain.
“We should not regret that Europe is playing with caution,” Moureaux said. “Actually, I think that’s a good thing.”
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Casert reported from Brussels. Danica Kirka in London; Frank Jordans and Geir Moulson in Berlin; Mark Carlson and Sam Petrequin in Brussels; Angela Charlton in Paris and Daniel Cole in Marseille, France, contributed to this report.
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