John Rawls’ “veil of ignorance” posited a fair society as one with rules determined by unborn individuals who had no idea what gender, race, nationality or wealth they might be born into. In this way, inbuilt biases for or against different groups would be minimised. Perhaps those arguing for the UK-made vaccine to be reserved for the UK population (Britain and EU clash over claims to UK-produced Covid vaccine, 27 January) should consider how they might feel if it were a UK plant suffering the production problems, rather than one in Belgium, and whether they would still be so keen to make a nationalistic argument.
Emeritus Professor Ruth Bender
Bedford
• Imagine the chorus of execration if the UK had been three months behind the EU in ordering Covid vaccines but Boris Johnson had demanded parity of delivery, declaring: “We reject the logic of first come, first served.”
Dr John Doherty
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
• In April, when Britain was desperate for ventilators, the German army donated 60. Now plants in the EU have problems with the production of the AstraZeneca vaccine. This is an opportunity to repay the kindness of our European friends. The government could allow a small but useful fraction of UK stocks to go to the EU.
Dr Robert F Drake
Swansea
• Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper describes the EU’s slow, bureaucratic and protectionist reaction in its dispute with AstraZeneca as the best advertisement for Brexit. What is the second best?
Blair Noonan
Dublin
