Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BLUSTER RISKS LOSING VACCINE Britain-first boast could hamper access to treatment
THE NHS could miss out on a coronavirus vaccine because of the Government’s “Britain-first” bluster, a leading medical charity has warned.
If another nation develops one before we do, inoculation could be set back after Business Secretary Alok Sharma vowed to prioritise the UK if a jab is developed here first, said Medecins Sans Frontieres.
It also raised fears over the UK and America’s resistance to calls for a “patent pool” to share a vaccine between countries.
Mr Sharma spoke out last week after Astra
Zeneca signed a licensing deal for a vaccine developed at Oxford University. Roz Scource of MSF said: “He said the UK would have access to the vaccine first through scale-up of manufacturing. That nationalistic view is something we’re concerned about.
There’s no guarantee the Oxford vaccine will be the one. What happens if it’s not?”
There were also concerns ministers failed to attach anti-profiteering conditions to development cash given to pharmaceutical firms. Ms Scource added: “The public’s paying twice – for funding the research and development, then again when pharmaceutical companies get the patent.”
Her fears were echoed by Diarmaid McDonald of Just Treatment, which last year helped force a pharmaceutical firm to drop the price of cystic fibrosis drugs.
AstraZeneca has vowed not to make a profit during the pandemic. But Mr McDonald said: “There’s a chance we’ll have to vaccinate millions every year. If we start seeing AstraZeneca at that point charging high prices, it turns into billions of pounds.”
Mr Sharma said the UK jab would be made available to developing nations “at the lowest possible cost”.
A Government spokesman said: “The UK is the biggest donor to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
“If the Oxford vaccine is successful, AstraZeneca will work to deliver 100 million doses, including 30 million in the UK by September, and will work with global partners on distribution.”
Aaron’s vial of blood
ANOSMIA is not a word I’d heard before the crisis.
It means to lose your sense of smell and mine went in late March, as I was brewing a morning coffee.
This didn’t help my daily ability to function but the real worry was anosmia being linked to Covid-19. Advice was patchy.
My anosmia was gone by the time it was confirmed as a symptom on May 18.
But an antibody test from Superdrug, which involved pricking my finger and sending back a vial of blood, proved positive.
I wondered if I’d spread the virus. When it came to symptoms, why didn’t the Government didn’t wake up and smell the coffee?