IT was all going so brilliantly with the vaccine programme, wasn’t it?
Developed at record speed and then rolled out unbelievably efficiently, to begin with. The UK administered more Covid-19 vaccine first doses per 100 people than any other nation of comparable population size.
In March, more than half a million people were getting vaccinated every day, with first doses peaking at 752,000 shots in a single day.
Then it was extended to the under-30s. And we seem to have ground to a halt.
At the beginning it was OK. In the week to June 18, more than 90,000 under-25s got jabbed every day.
But NHS figures show that only 18,100 under-25s a day have come forward to get their first dose in the past week.
Demand for the jab among young adults has fallen by 80 per cent and the rollout has dropped to its slowest pace yet, even though anyone over the age of 18 is eligible.
With three million under-30s still unjabbed, it is pretty clear that young people are hesitant about getting the vaccine. And that includes my own kids.
I have begged them both to get the jab, but neither of them will.
They flatly refuse and cannot be persuaded.
They believe that the risks of taking it are greater than the benefits.
They believe under-30s will have blood clots if they take AstraZeneca or heart problems if they have the Pfizer, problems with fertility, periods and almost everything else they have read that might happen to 0.000001 per cent of people who have the vaccine.
Like many young women, Sophia, who is 25, is concerned about the effects on fertility.
But that fear is based on rumour, not on reliable evidence.
Having had the virus once, with only a loss of smell and taste as his symptoms, my son Paolo thinks he’s unlikely to get it again and won’t get that sick if he does. In a way you can see his point — the chances of a fit, young man of 22 dying of Covid are minuscule.
But that does not account for long Covid. Figures show around one in ten people aged 18 to 49 develop long-term symptoms after having coronavirus, regard- less of how unwell they were at first.
Also, even if you have had the virus, doctors do not know how long antibodies and immunity last.
Many young people are worried about the vaccine being “rushed”.
Yes, it was created at record speed, but that is because it was the result of an unprecedented global effort from the best scientists in the world who worked around the clock to create it.
I had no reservations about getting the vaccine. But that is because, being on the all-party Parliamentary group for coronavirus, I have read every research paper and every report, so felt sure I had nothing to worry about.
But even though I can trot out all the evidence, there is only so much a mother to two young adults can do to make them do something they don’t want to.
It’s not just my family. All my friends have had the jab. And all their kids have not had it.
I am filming the new series of The Apprentice at the moment and while I know that Alan and Tim have had both vaccines, I do not know if the candidates have had the jab.
Luckily, protocol is very strict and we get tested every two days.
PUBLIC SPIRITED
But the same cannot be said for many other workplaces and public arenas. That’s why it is public spirited for everyone to get the jab, even if they feel they are not at risk.
But many believe the risk of complications from the vaccine is greater than from the virus.
As a result, we are now experiencing a pingdemic, which is disrupting our lives terribly. The more young people refuse the jab, the more cases there will be. Increasing numbers are going to be pinged and have to take time off work.
I am not sure how we can inspire young people to get the jab before winter comes and all of this vaccine hesitancy threatens another lockdown.
Perhaps it will take one of their friends becoming badly ill with Covid.
Or it might be that only a vaccine passport for some aspects of their personal life, threatening their freedom if they don’t have one, will be the solution. That is why I think the Government has said you can’t go to nightclubs without having both jabs.
But it would be a shame if it had to come to that. What really needs to happen instead is our young people just need to grow up a bit.
Confident Carol looks abs fab
WHEN I saw the pictures of Carol Vorderman paddleboarding in Wales, I was struck by how bloody amazing she looks. Not just for 60, but for any age.
She exudes happiness and also looks really sexy. I just love her confidence. We could all hope for a bit of that.
Gorgeous George
HOW gorgeous is Prince George in the portrait his family released to celebrate his eighth birthday this week? What a cutie!
It really made me think that Prince William has done a brilliant job of breaking the slightly austere mould of the Royal Family, by providing his three children with a warm, loving and happy home.
George’s smile beams pure happiness and it is lovely to see.
Bikini rule is pants
I CANNOT believe that Norway’s beach handball team were fined £1,300 for wearing shorts, rather than bikini bottoms, while competing.
They were penalised by the Disciplinary Committee of the European Handball Federation for the equivalent of £130 per player.
According to the international handball rules, they were required to wear extremely skimpy bikini bottoms for their European Championship match against Spain in Bulgaria.
Who could possibly disagree with their desire not to have to cavort on a beach wearing what amounts to tiny pants, and to wear shorts instead – as their male counterparts are allowed to do?
MACHO SPORT
They have had so much support in Norway. Abid Raja, the country’s Minister for Culture and Sports, has branded the fine “completely ridiculous”.
He added: “A change of attitude is needed in the macho and conservative international world of sport.”
Too right. And good on players Tonya Lurstaad and Julia Bird. They appeared on the Lorraine show this week saying they had wanted “for a long time” to swap their skimpy outfits for something similar to the men’s shorts and T-shirts. The photo of the men’s team in their shorts next to the women in their tiny pants spoke volumes.
Why should women be told by men what to wear? Women just want equality and to make their own decisions about the clothes they wear.
The idea women are being fined for that is just preposterous.
Yes, they Kan
DIVORCE is said to be five stages of grief – including denial, anger, bargaining, depression.
It appears that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West reached the fifth stage, acceptance.
She and their four children attended his album launch party in Atlanta. It seems as if they are both being mature. And Kim taking the kids was no doubt to ensure they maintain a good relationship with their dad.
A good show, Holly
IMAGINE a man posting on social media, encouraging other guys to accept a part of their physiology that is more or less unavoidable?
Men aren’t taught to hate their bodies in the same way women are, so it’s hard to.
Still, I love Geordie Shore’s Holly Hagan, 29, for posting a candid photo of her cellulite on social media.
Her caption said: “I’ll be totally honest with you all. If I could click my fingers and remove my cellulite, I would.
“Do I love it? No, but I don’t believe I have to. You can’t just magically love something you’ve been taught to hate.
“I’ll never tell you to love yours neither, because I’d be a hypocrite.
“But what I will tell you is to not allow a bit of cellulite, which is completely normal, to stop you enjoying the summer . . . wear the bikini, the shorts, the skirt and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.”
We need more honest people like Holly. We all have cellulite and there is only one cure: Photoshop.
Poor Alicia
READING about Alicia Douvall, who has had so many botched surgeries that she now needs Botox every six months to keep her face lifted, made my heart go out to her.
She has had more than 360 cosmetic procedures, including 18 boob jobs, 11 nose jobs, bum implants and her ribs shaved down. It has cost her more than £700,000.
And Alicia, below, says that Botox has now become a necessity, otherwise she is left dribbling after surgeons tore a muscle in her face during a facelift.
If this is not a reminder of the perils of too much cosmetic tinkering, I don’t know what is.
Some plastic surgeons are butchers. It is so dangerous to keep pushing for perfection.
One more surgery was never going to fix her insecurities.
I just want to give her a hug.
