The world blew it a year ago. Everything needed to shutdown much quicker and much harder.
We didn't so now we're stuck with Covid for the foreseeable. If it's a naturally occurring virus, it should eventually weaken. So the important thing is to adapt to living with it.
We'll evolve into a society of two jabs a year (hopefully down to one at some point) for everyone and then get on with it. Life will be a bit riskier.
So now it's all about logistics. We need the volume of vaccines and the delivery infrastructure in place.
We're now almost at the point where half the population are vaccinated and half aren't. That doesn't half the risk. Kids going back to schools again now will circulate the virus widely once again.
Within a couple of months we'll know whether an increase in circulation leads to an unacceptable increase in serious illness and death. Or does this level of vaccination make us 'safe enough'?
Some of my family have been vaccinated and some haven't. Things like my daughter's school notifying us about two positive results this week tell me that half the country being vaccinated isn't enough for me to reduce my safety first approach.
If you have vaccinated older relatives itching to do more, they're fecking morons. It's now that time when you're not really unlucky if you're over 50 and get very ill, you're an idiot. You've pushed your luck. Having the vaccine doesn't prevent someone from getting Covid or spreading it.
I think there was a strong argument to have prioritised kids and working people for the vaccines. That way, by now, opening up would be safer and less likely to lead to another surge. Giving it to the older generations first has saved lives in the short term, but it's not clear whether it has in the medium to long term.
I think what I'm saying is that those lucky enough to have had the vaccine have a responsibility to those that haven't. Not for ever, but certainly for a while more.
