Spring back
WHILE Covid rips through vulnerable groups, restrictions on social contact make sense.
But let’s be clear: once the vaccine has been made available to those at serious risk, we must take immediate steps to reopen the country fully.
An overly cautious return to normal life — clearly the preferred option for some twitchy Government scientists — would be disastrous. The daily drumbeat of job losses would become deafening, and our high streets would soon resemble graveyards.
Yes, it’s quite possible that the virus will still be spreading among young adults — low down on the jab priority list — come the spring.
But for the vast majority of under-50s, coronavirus is a mild illness that poses very little threat. And every day that Brits are forbidden from going about their ordinary business, the long-term prognosis for the economy gets bleaker.
It will take months to administer the jab to millions of vulnerable Brits. So we should all buckle down for a long, quiet winter.
But as soon as that phase of the programme is complete, we must come out of hibernation all guns blazing — and pull together to save the 2020s.
Forgotten killer
WE couldn’t be happier that the vaccine has been approved, giving us a clear route back to normal life.
But we have to inject a note of caution into the celebrations: the Government must NOT prioritise the Covid jab rollout ahead of NHS treatments for other equally life-threatening conditions.
Too many times this year, cancer patients were forgotten. Macmillan estimates that in May 2020, during the peak of the first wave, the number of people in England being seen by a specialist for suspected cancer following an urgent referral by their GP was just 106,535, down 94,000 on the same time last year.
If that trend continues, excess cancer deaths could eclipse coronavirus fatalities very soon indeed.
To get us safely through 2021, we need a fully functioning health service at the top of its game — not just a Covid vaccine conveyor belt.
Lorra lorry love
THREE cheers for Britain’s truckers, working tirelessly around the clock to make Christmas happen.
One good thing this grim virus has given us is an appreciation for the men and women who get their hands dirty to keep the world spinning.
But while cleaners and nurses have been rightly celebrated, professional drivers all too often get overlooked.
They, too, are unsung heroes. And Trending In The News thanks them for everything they do.
