HOW familiar it all seems. It’s the countdown to Christmas and plans are up in the air, with ministers being quizzed on whether we will be allowed to mix during the festive season amid fears over a fresh wave of Covid that may be far more transmissible.
As the great American baseball coach Yogi Berra is said to have remarked: “It’s deja vu all over again.”
Except that’s not quite right, is it? For all the uncertainty over the Omicron variant, the situation now barely compares with 12 months ago.
Remember the different tiers? Remember lockdown? Remember the fears of Covid galloping out of control once again, forcing the Prime Minister to cancel Christmas with less than a week to go?
A new variant then meant the average case rate had increased by 66 per cent in the first two weeks of December 2020. The memory of all that is stark.
But there is one huge, game-changing difference this time around: we have the vaccine.
Back in December 2020, the only defences we had against Covid were heavy-handed, such as lockdowns and social distancing. Now, thanks to the scientific miracle of vaccines, we are in a far better place.
This story is from the November 30, 2021 edition of Daily Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 30, 2021 edition of Daily Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Clamour grows for Kid Kobbie to be main man
ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate is facing growing calls to pick Kobbie Mainoo for Euro 2024.
Red-carded Reid is fined for vile rant at official
STEVEN REID escaped with a £5,000 fine and two-game touchline ban, despite the Nottingham Forest coach’s extraordinary foul-mouthed outburst at a referee.
GARETH HAS MUCH TO PONDER
Choosing squad is toughest job of all
'We've not hit the heights of 2017 but it can happen again'
FINAL SURVIVOR MCSHANE IS BACK TO BOOST CASTLEFORD
Friends reunited
FRANKIE DETTORI and John Gosden were reunited at Meydan ahead of Saturday’s Dubai World Cup fixture.
Police review handling of Rayner home sale claims after Tory MP complains
POLICE are looking into how it investigated claims Angela Rayner broke electoral law in a house sale row.
'If assisted dying were an option, he would have wanted it...'
Ex-nurse backs law change after seeing husband suffer
£80k for couple whose Arctic trip was sunk...by the cold
Globe-trotting pensioners win court fight over holiday
First bridge dead named
SHIP CRASH PILOT'S DESPERATE BID TO SAVE LIVES
Children in Gaza playing among '5,000 unexploded bombs' warns British expert
AN ex-Army specialist sent to Gaza to help locate unexploded bombs has called for an immediate ceasefire, saying children are playing among 5,000 devices left in the ruins.