Hope

“It’s not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It’s the hope I can’t stand." ~ John Cleese (as Brian Stimpson in the film Clockwise)

So we now seem to have three promising vaccines for protecting individuals against Coronavirus.  Which ought to mean that in the new year, large-scale vaccination programmes can start up, to hopefully, finally, free us all from the threat and reality of Covid-19.

We ought at this stage to remember two things: 

(i) These vaccines haven't been tested to prove their efficacy at stopping the virus spreading.  That means that although they may protect an individual, that person may still spread the virus to anyone they come into close contact with.  At this stage, we don't know.  

(ii) Incidence of so-called 'Long Covid' - the longer-term, highly debilitating illness that can occur long after the first bout of Covid has gone away - does not correlate with severity of the original infection, and can affect people across the age range. 

Taken together these suggest that, if we have the NHS rolling out vaccines at scale, it would still seem sensible to maintain restrictions until large numbers of the populace have been vaccinated, not just front-line carers and those most at risk.  

All the same, it is very hopeful.

And then you realise exactly the nature of the Government charged with making this happen.  You realise that Johnson will give the job to Dido Harding and Serco.

Or Chris Grayling.