Don’t blame EU for vaccine ‘supply’ row – Yorkshire Post Letters

I AM puzzled by Mark Casci’s recent article, headlined ‘EU’s vaccine conduct makes part of me glad we left’ (The Yorkshire Post, March 23).

I doubt that it would normally be in keeping with his Business Editor role to criticise a customer endeavouring to enforce a contract. This is precisely what the European Union is doing in its recent actions on the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The EU has not taken any action against the UK government, only against the company.

On the principle of “any stick to beat the EU with”, in a vain attempt to hide the dire consequences of Brexit, the usual press channels have portrayed the EU as the Big Bad Wolf trying to steal UK vaccines whereas the problem is Astra-Zeneca overcommitting themselves.

As for the fairness of allocation, it needs to be noted that the UK has ordered 400 million doses in total – enough for six jabs for every man, woman and child in the country. The EU may well have a good case for getting Astra-Zeneca to ensure a more effective distribution of supplies. Mark Casci actually gives the game away in his column. He writes that “EU member states” – note, not the EU – “have engaged in some of the most shameful and disingenuous conduct I can remember in the modern history of the West”, and he goes on to point out that “the EU’s own European Medicines Authority” have given this vaccine the green light.

I suggest, therefore, that the blame should be placed where it belongs. Of the 27 European Union countries, only the Czech Republic, Belgium and Slovenia currently have a worse record of Covid deaths per population than the UK. This is entirely the fault of our government, but no doubt there are those who will blame the EU.

From: Mr CS Jeans, Middleton Quernhow, Ripon.

I MUST have got it wrong all these years. I always thought Ofgem was supposed to be on the side of energy users. So what on earth is it doing allowing energy companies to increase their prices?

We’re not all politicians living in a Westminster bubble. The very same politicians who think we all earn the same as they do. In addition there will be the usual April Fool’s Day price increases. Council tax, TV licences too for those who have had it free, prescription charges, you name it, it will go up.

Ordinary folk in this country are treated as though we have deep pockets.

What about pensioners on a miserly state pension? We have the lowest pension in Europe. Aren’t we all daft for putting up with it?

At the next election I’m writing ‘none of the above’.

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