Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2021-02-08)

◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek February 8, 2021

36

ILLUSTRATION BY KATI SZILÁGYI

● Thebloclurchesfromonemisstep to

anotherin itseffortstosecureshots

The EU’s Vaccine

Omnishambles

WhendrugmakerAstraZenecaPlctoldtheEuropean

UniononJan. 22 it wouldslashexpecteddeliveries

ofitsCovid- 19 vaccinetotheblocbecauseofpro-

ductionproblems,EUofficials,alreadypressured

overtheirfalteringvaccinationprogram,wereblind-

sided.SuspectingtheAnglo-Swedishcompanyof

favoringtheU.K.andallegingbreachofcontract,

theydemandedthatAstraZenecareallocatevaccines

fromtheU.K.totheEU.Thecompanyrefusedand

deniedviolatingitsagreementwiththebloc.For

days,neithersidewouldbackdown.

Finally, onJan. 31, European Commission

PresidentUrsulavonderLeyenannouncedthat

Astrawoulddeliver9 millionadditionalvaccine

dosestotheblocinthefirstquarter.Butbythat

point,hersidehadescalatedtheargumentby

threateningtoimposeexportcontrolsonvaccine

supplies,promptingtheWorldHealthOrganization

towarnagainst“vaccinenationalism.”

Althoughthespatis over(fornow),it remains

anaptsymbolofa vaccinationrolloutthat’sbeen

dysfunctional from the beginning. The EU has

weathereda multitudeofcrisesoverthepast

twodecades,fromBrexittomigration.Yetthe

failure to inoculate its citizens swiftly against the

virus cuts to the heart of the European dilemma.

Notforthefirsttime,theEUisconfrontedwith

thequestion:Whatis itspurpose,if 27countries

workingtogether arelesseffectivethanwhen

governments go it alone?

After almost a year of lockdowns to fight a pan-

demic that hit Europe harder than much of the rest

of the world, the EU’s seeming inability to do more

to come out the other side is stark. As of Feb. 3 its

THEBOTTOMLINE Morethantheousterofcontroversialhead

DeJoy,theUSPSsorelyneedslong-termreform.If anyonecan

pushthatthroughCongress,it’sBiden.

swiftly from state election boards to voters and

back to the election boards, which should putto

restfearsthatDeJoywasinTrump’scontrol.

None ofthiswentunnoticedbythemillen-

nials who put “Save the Post Office” signs in their

windows. Progressive groups popular with this

age group, such as the Democratic Socialists of

America and Black Lives Matter, also voiced sup-

port for a postal rescue plan last year. In New York,

young people on the street applauded puzzled but

governmentshadadministeredjust3 dosesof

vaccineper 100 people,farbehindthe15.2per 100

intheU.K.and10.3per 100 intheU.S.Thefeeble

pace has dire consequences for fatalities and the

speedofeconomicrecovery.

Privately,EUofficialsanddiplomatsworrythat

theblochasfailedinitsprimeobligation—toprotect

its citizens—and fear the corrosive effect that could

have in the long run. “The political risks for the

EU are enormous,” says Guntram Wolff, director

of the Brussels-based policy group Bruegel. “But

we should be clear: Many EU countries would have

fared much worse if they had to negotiate with

pharma companies on their own.”

Negotiating contracts is supposed to be what

the EU excels at. In reality, the bloc was behind

appreciative mail carriers on Nov. 7 when Biden

won Pennsylvania, clinching the election.

In short, the president might be able to keep

his party’s left flank happy and burnish his biparti-

san credentials by shepherding a postal reform bill

through Congress. No wonder he’s taken such an

interest in the post office. �Devin Leonard