Europeans, like many others across the world, hoped for a better and happier year in 2021 - after seemingly endless months of Covid illness, deaths and pandemic-linked economic misery. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/eu-policies/health-eu-policies/ema-investigates-astrazeneca-vaccine-and-thromboembolic-events/ But so far, so annus horribilis for the EU. On a number of Covid fronts.<br /><br />#eudebates #Covid_19 #AstraZeneca #coronavirus #Corona #COVD19 #Health #COVID #vaccine <br /><br />The bloc's by now infamous vaccination procurement scheme - trumpeting the securing of up to 2.6 billion doses - has so far failed to deliver. EU countries lag significantly behind Israel, the UK and the US in getting jabs into arms.<br /><br />A number of EU members have stumbled nationally, too, with heavily criticised roll-outs of the vaccines they did manage to obtain, in Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria and beyond. <br /><br />And all the while the virus continues its deadly spread.<br /><br />On Friday, Italy's Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, and Germany's respected Robert Koch institute for infectious diseases confirmed their respective countries were experiencing a third wave of the pandemic. Covid restrictions in Italy will be tightened from Monday, with a national lockdown planned for Easter Weekend.<br /><br />Countries in Central and Eastern Europe, proud of their health record during the first Covid wave, are now suffering terribly.<br /><br />Poland and Hungary have seen serious spikes in infection, while the Czech Republic and neighbouring Slovakia report some of the highest death rates per population in the world.<br /><br />Short presentational grey line<br />This was certainly not what the European Commission had in mind back in June when it announced a "European strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing and deployment of effective and safe vaccines against Covid-19".<br /><br />At the time, the UK was derided by many at home and abroad for not accepting an invitation from Brussels - even as a departing member state - to jump aboard the EU vaccine procurement scheme.<br /><br />"Boris Johnson's Brexit-focused government prefers to go it alone? More fool them," was the sentiment of many in the EU.<br /><br />But fast forward to late February and take a look at the front-page headline of Germany's popular Bild newspaper. In a mixture of German and English and with the union flag as a backdrop, it reads in bold print: Liebe Britain, We Beneiden You ( Dear Britain, we envy you).<br /><br />This from a country with the famously level-headed scientist Angela Merkel at its helm and which, at the start of the pandemic, seemed to lead the way in how to deal with the virus effectively.<br /><br />So what went wrong?<br /><br />The debate in Germany has become highly politicised in the lead-up to September's general election.<br />
