A Fourteenth View from The Apocalypse

 

Good News – finally! The Vaccine is Coming. The first roll out to medical workers is due to happen in the next few weeks along with Care Home residents. After that it will be progressively rolled out by age and underlying health condition/risk. In Phase One I’m near the bottom of the list – 7^th I think – as over-60 with no health issues so I expect I’ll get the vaccine between Easter & summer. Of course by then the other vaccines will have been approved so the vaccination rate/rollout might have speeded up by then.

This morning I actually had my standard Flu shot. Much later than I usually do but, until recently, there’s been a significant shortage of vaccine because of greatly increased uptake – probably a mixture of people being worried of getting Covid AND flu, government recommendations and the erroneous belief that the flu shot might help to protect against Covid itself. I received a letter from my local GP practice (about a 5 minute stroll from my house) saying that I could book a flu shot if I called them – which I did the next day. So today I strolled over and stood in a Q of about 15 people waiting to be vaccinated. I thought I’d be there a while but the line was moving at a fair clip and I was inside and giving my name a few minutes later. Directed to one of the rooms I waited a few minutes longer before meeting the nurse, having a quick chat, and then the jab. Quick, efficient and totally free. If I’d paid elsewhere (if I could’ve had a jab earlier) it would’ve only been £9 so I’m never that bothered about not (usually) getting it free. Good to be finally sorted though. I imagine the Covid vaccine rollout will be something very similar. Phase 1 will cover everyone over 50 (at the moment) but that’ll probably change closer to the time.

We came out of a national lockdown on Wednesday but it was nothing like the first time. There was some restriction on pubs and restaurants but most other places (designated essential) were still open. I honestly hardly noticed the change in status. Now my area is at Tier 3, which is the second most stringent, but at least the bookshops are open again! I won’t be going to see my 84 year old mother this year but we do talk regularly and we’ll meet up next year once everyone has had their shot. Interestingly I found out my sister and her entire family have signed up to a government program to get tested for Covid every 4 weeks. After 12 months they get £400 – each, including the kids. Sweet!

So, at least the lights at the end of the tunnel are starting to be turned on again. We can now start to envisage something like normality arriving in the next 8-12 months. Hopefully the global impact that Covid has had – and not just the death toll – will be a wakeup call for everyone that we can’t cut corners and funding on Influenza research and monitoring. Hopefully next time – and there will be a next time – the whole world will be more prepared. Be Safe. Stay Safe.