Coronavirus - Part Two.

[Staunton 18]

That's right.

 

Boris Johnson would like us to believe that capitalism and greed enabled the success of the UK vaccine project. In fact, following the private sector catastrophe of the PPE scandal and the devastating failed promise of a world-beating outsourced test and trace project, the vaccine success is due entirely to social democratic mechanisms - up front public investment to encourage innovation in a sector that prefers to sell established staples - SSRIs, analgesics and nicotine patches; the use of legacy public education institutions; and supply of the finished product 'at cost' rather than to shareholder advantage, administered via the NHS.

[Magilla 510]

23 minutes ago, West 77 said:

The capitalism and greed comments were said in a joking manner to poke fun at a Tory whip who was gobbling down food while Boris Johnson was talking to Tory MPs in a private meeting.  

...and if you believe that, you really will believe anything!

[pattricia 574]

My neighbour is in his middle fifties and although registered with his GP for a Coronavirus jab, he hasn’t yet heard anything. He asked me if people can pay privately to have the jab.Does anyone know anything about this ?

[apelike 10]

2 hours ago, Staunton said:

Boris Johnson would like us to believe that capitalism and greed enabled the success of the UK vaccine project. In fact, following the private sector catastrophe of the PPE scandal and the devastating failed promise of a world-beating outsourced test and trace project, the vaccine success is due entirely to social democratic mechanisms - up front public investment to encourage innovation in a sector that prefers to sell established staples - SSRIs, analgesics and nicotine patches; the use of legacy public education institutions; and supply of the finished product 'at cost' rather than to shareholder advantage, administered via the NHS.

I think you should read post#4649 again.

 

While the AstraZeneca jab is being sold for now at cost they are set to make over £500M from it during that period and are the ones who decide when to increase the prices and sell it at the normal price after that. They are the ones who determine when they think the pandemic has waned and will then determine its future cost. The Oxford labs are set to get a 6% stake in future profits as are many others so in the end it is a capital enterprise and not a socialist one. They are also the ones who as I have said have been given £100 of millions of private and public money to help develop a successful vaccine. There is also no transparency or accountability as to how that money is/has been spent as it is a private operation with shareholders. The fact that they have have received money upfront for scaling up the vaccine production and to help speed that delivery up is another thing. As for the NHS, that is about the only bit that has a socialist history although some on here have disputed that in the past and made out it has been basically privatised in one form or another.

 

The development of the AstraZenica vaccine was also done using a known system that was just modified for coronavirus, tested in trials and then upscaled to meet demands and the reason why a working vaccine was available so quickly. The upscaling bit was the problem not the development of it.

 

At the moment shares in the vaccine companies are up and it will be interesting to see just how much profit these companies make from this pandemic in a year or so. Then will be the time to judge just how  socially democratic any of them were.

[Bargepole23 337]

50 minutes ago, West 77 said:

He should have had a letter from the NHS  informing him how to book an appointment online.  He should still be able to book online providing he knows his NHS number.  Otherwise he should contact his GP surgery because there is no option to go privately. My own GP surgery wrote to me after I had already booked online asking me for my telephone details because they claimed they didn't know them.  When I contacted them they told me to stick  with the online booking because the advantage is  I already have an appointment for my second dose.

Same here. It seems far simpler to book it online and get both appointments at once than spend time on the phone with a GP surgery. Some of the suggested locations were a bit distant, but Hathersage was an easy and pleasant 15 minute journey for me. Mansfield was the next nearest option, bit of a trek.

[pattricia 574]

9 minutes ago, Bargepole23 said:

Same here. It seems far simpler to book it online and get both appointments at once than spend time on the phone with a GP surgery. Some of the suggested locations were a bit distant, but Hathersage was an easy and pleasant 15 minute journey for me. Mansfield was the next nearest option, bit of a trek.

Thank you for your replies.

[apelike 10]

I received a letter but mine was booked and administered by my local GP surgery as they phoned me. I accepted the appointment simply because it's only a 10 minute walk away. On leaving the nurse gave me a card saying what vaccine I had and also an appointment date for the second jab. That seems to be the way its done with the local GP but I suppose some surgeries maybe more efficient than others. The main thing here is not to panic and cause yourself unnecessary worry.

[pattricia 574]

23 minutes ago, Bargepole23 said:

Same here. It seems far simpler to book it online and get both appointments at once than spend time on the phone with a GP surgery. Some of the suggested locations were a bit distant, but Hathersage was an easy and pleasant 15 minute journey for me. Mansfield was the next nearest option, bit of a trek.

Can you book online and still leave your name on your GPS list ? Did not kn

 

1 minute ago, apelike said:

I received a letter but mine was booked and administered by my local GP surgery as they phoned me. I accepted the appointment simply because it's only a 10 minute walk away. On leaving the nurse gave me a card saying what vaccine I had and also an appointment date for the second jab. That seems to be the way its done with the local GP but I suppose some surgeries maybe more efficient than others. The main thing here is not to panic and cause yourself unnecessary worry.

Thank you I will pass this information on to my neighbour. I wonder if you can book online but still leave your name on your GPS list.? I didn’t know that if you booked online you get a date for the second appointment at the same time.

[apelike 10]

In my case the surgery asked me if I had already booked online, if I was going to, or if I wanted it done at the local surgery. 

[Staunton 18]

I've no doubt the free market vultures are waiting to translate taxpayer funded coronavirus vaccine research into private profit just as soon as they can. The NHS has indeed been hollowed out by neoliberal attrition over the last 40 years, and awaits the final takeover within the US/UK post brexit deal (this explains why the tories are so vigorous in their insistence that NHS staff must not hope for more than the below inflation 1% pay-rise - the outsourcing capitalists poised to take over such a large workforce would be outraged if they had to foot the bill for a fair wage increase).

 

This is the world shaped by neoliberal ideology. It is nothing less than the appropriation of every public revenue stream (i.e. the taxes we pay), for profit, without accountability. All nicely hidden behind the bluster and buffoonery, the flags and the 'working night and day', 'working tirelessly', straining every sinew' 'working in partnership with' nonsense.

[Longcol 592]

11 hours ago, West 77 said:

Makes no difference to me whether it's a true of false explanation.  I'm just reporting what someone told Laura Kuenssberg.   I'm just grateful that myself and other family members have already benefited from the fast UK covid-19 vaccine rollout and feel fortunate to live in the UK rather than in somewhere like the EU where they seem to be having many problems. Thank goodness for British efficiency.

Nothing to do with efficiency - the UK has received far more vaccine per head than the EU.

 

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/03/25/has-the-uk-really-outperformed-the-eu-on-covid-19-vaccinations/

[El Cid 210]

17 hours ago, apelike said:

The development of the AstraZenica vaccine was also done using a known system that was just modified for coronavirus, tested in trials and then upscaled to meet demands and the reason why a working vaccine was available so quickly. The upscaling bit was the problem not the development of it.

 

At the moment shares in the vaccine companies are up and it will be interesting to see just how much profit these companies make from this pandemic in a year or so. Then will be the time to judge just how  socially democratic any of them were.

Shares in AstraZeneca plc are lower now than in Jan 2020 before all this started, many non-medical shares are down,  but AstraZeneca plc is by no means doing really well.