In anticipation of the AZ contract publication, a quick walk through of the vaccine contract we do have (which may be different, though I doubt it) and why the Commission's argument is disgraceful

The relevant obligations of the contractor (AZ) are in 1.3 and 1.71.

Those obligations are in three stages.

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First two

They must make reasonable best efforts

1. to obtain EU athorisation

2. to manufacture once authorisation granted

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Once those are satisfied THEN the contractor must deliver according to the estimated schedule (which may be adjusted for delay).

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The Commission's argument is that once the authorise (today!) the first two stages are satisfied. And the strict duty to deliver kicks in.

(see @vonderleyen interview in German here

https://t.co/i3Z7nQuLnE )

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But the reason why AZ has manufacturing capacity in advance of this long delayed authoristion by the Commission, is that the UK bought and approved months ago the same drug, so it has stock manufactured under that contract for the UK.

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If the UK contract didn't exist, there would be no stock.

A Soriot explained in his interview, the UK bught much earlier and stipulated that vaccine manufactured at UK plants go to the UK.

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https://t.co/REP32HbZIc
The "reasonable efforts" duty is expressly subject to contractual obligations to other parties.

This is how these kind of contracts work.

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It isn't "first come first served" but rather "once you give approval, you don't get the benefit of manufacturing ramp up we did under other contracts for other buyers."

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Bluntly, according to the information currently in the public domain, I think the Commission's behaviour is a disgrace. There is a failed procurement scandal here, and they're trying to deflect from their own failure.

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Disclosure: I am a contract lawyer. I am not a small minded Farage-ist Brexiteer. I wish we'd never left the EU.

Qualification: we haven't seen the AZ contract yet. We don't know what was said in negotiations.

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More from For later read

Every single public defender. Every single day.


Bail arguments, motions, oral arguments, hearings. Judges don’t know, follow, or care about the law. Prosecutors are willing to take advantage of it. And mandatory minimums, withheld evidence, & pretrial detention coerces people to plead before trial. When theres a jury. A shot.

But defenders still fight. And still win. Most times wins aren’t “Justice.” It’s power of repetition of argument in front of same judges. Introducing those in power to the people they oppress. Not just a RAP sheet or words on a page. Defenders make it harder to be brutal & cruel.

I worked as a public defender at an office as well resourced as any in the country. Social workers, team of investigators, a reentry team, support staff, specialist attorneys in immigration, housing, education, family. Relatively low caseloads (80-100). And yet still injustice.

Most think that balancing the scales of justice means more funding for defenders. Thats part of it. Enough a attorneys to actually be at bail hearings. Wrap around services to be able to help people trapped in the system end up better off in their communities. Lower caseloads.

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The chorus of this song uses the shlokas taken from Sundarkand of Ramayana.

It is a series of Sanskrit shlokas recited by Jambavant to Hanuman to remind Him of his true potential.

1. धीवर प्रसार शौर्य भरा: The brave persevering one, your bravery is taking you forward.


2. उतसारा स्थिरा घम्भीरा: The one who is leaping higher and higher, who is firm and stable and seriously determined.

3. ुग्रामा असामा शौर्या भावा: He is strong, and without an equal in the ability/mentality to fight

4. रौद्रमा नवा भीतिर्मा: His anger will cause new fears in his foes.

5.विजिटरीपुरु धीरधारा, कलोथरा शिखरा कठोरा: This is a complex expression seen only in Indic language poetry. The poet is stating that Shivudu is experiencing the intensity of climbing a tough peak, and likening

it to the feeling in a hard battle, when you see your enemy defeated, and blood flowing like a rivulet. This is classical Veera rasa.

6.कुलकु थारथिलीथा गम्भीरा, जाया विराट वीरा: His rough body itself is like a sharp weapon (because he is determined to win). Hail this complete

hero of the world.

7.विलयगागनथाला भिकारा, गरज्जद्धरा गारा: The hero is destructive in the air/sky as well (because he can leap at an enemy from a great height). He can defeat the enemy (simply) with his fearsome roar of war.
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Viruses and other pathogens are often studied as stand-alone entities, despite that, in nature, they mostly live in multispecies associations called biofilms—both externally and within the host.

https://t.co/FBfXhUrH5d


Microorganisms in biofilms are enclosed by an extracellular matrix that confers protection and improves survival. Previous studies have shown that viruses can secondarily colonize preexisting biofilms, and viral biofilms have also been described.


...we raise the perspective that CoVs can persistently infect bats due to their association with biofilm structures. This phenomenon potentially provides an optimal environment for nonpathogenic & well-adapted viruses to interact with the host, as well as for viral recombination.


Biofilms can also enhance virion viability in extracellular environments, such as on fomites and in aquatic sediments, allowing viral persistence and dissemination.