When Sam, Thomas and I recorded the 45th episode of our Small Data Forum podcast two weeks ago, who would have imagined that the major topic for us then – the EU’s COVID vaccination mess – would continue to be a major topic today, one that’s evolved and morphed into something even more alarming than it was then.
We were pretty critical of the European Commission, how it is managing the vaccine rollout across the 27 member states, and its communication. The World Health Organisation calls it unacceptably slow. We talked about ‘vaccine caution’ (EU bureaucrats and politicians) and ‘vaccine hesitancy’ (the people), especially concerning Astra Zeneca and worries about blood clots as an alleged consequence of its vaccine that were a big topic two weeks ago.
One thing seems clear – this is not about the science. At all.
All of this is still headline news in varying degrees, and we’re now seeing Europe trying to manage a third wave of infections and deeper lockdowns in some countries notably France and Germany. In contrast, the UK is coming out of its lockdowns from this week and is seeing the highest vaccination rate in Europe.
Two weeks ago, things were not looking good for Astra Zeneca, and we discussed their role in the negativity surrounding their vaccine. Today things look markedly worse.
We also scratched the surface of British COVID-19 grifter stories, and analysed three of Gartner’s data and analytics tech trends to watch in 2021. Hardy perennial-type topics for the SDF podcast! What’s the bet that the vaccination mess will still be a discussion point in our next episode?
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We hope you enjoy the show. Also, head over to our podcast blog to read Thomas’ excellent narrative show notes with links to sources and opinions about many of our discussion topics.
It’s a terrific complement to the audio.
If you have questions or comments, let us know: either leave a comment on the show notes, or send us a message.
Our next episode 46 will be published on Monday April 26.
