Vaccine setback must not delay our release from lockdown

Cartoon by Robert Criddle.

The end of lockdown stands before us like a mirage, tempting, yet never forthcoming.

Brits thirst for liberty but are told no by the Covid-obsessed elite, who are blind to the damage inflicted by their own restrictions. Is it too much to ask that we can drink with friends, comfort the lonely, and treat the dying with dignity?

We are now told that the slowdown of the vaccine rollout could have ‘ripple effects’ on the Government’s ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown. According to Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in Cellular Microbiology at the University of Reading, the vaccine delay ‘will undoubtedly make the meeting of the target dates for lifting restrictions more difficult than they otherwise would have been’.

What nonsense. All the UK’s over-50s – that is, the most vulnerable to Covid – are still on track to have been vaccinated by the end of the month. And given that only two in every 100 people who die of Covid are under the age of 50, there is no reason to wait any longer. Doing so will only cause more harm.

Matt Hancock agrees with this analysis: ‘The goal is not to ensure that we vaccinate the whole population before that point, it is to vaccinate those who are vulnerable. Then that’s the moment at which we can carefully start to lift the restrictions.’ His words, not mine. So sure is Matt Hancock that it would be right to unlock once the most vulnerable had been vaccinated that he said he would ‘cry freedom’ once this point had been passed.

The only problem is that this pledge was made two months ago. And we all know how steadfast Government officials are with their pledges. Will this ever end?