We Need To Be On A War Footing To Win The Covid-19 Battle

‘The worst kind of woke box-ticking is robbing us of skilled recruits’

- Leo McKinstry Daily Express columnist

THE MIDWINTER just became bleaker. As lockdown makes its grim return, coronavirus tightens its malignant grip on Britain, reflected in the alarming rise in Covid infections, the surge in hospital admissions and the rising death toll. Yet amid the darkness, a shining light of hope can be found in the nationwide vaccination programme. Its successful roll-out offers the key escape route from the crisis, with a real chance to end the miserable cycle of contagion and controls.

As a global pioneer in the development of vaccines, our country has tremendous advantages in inoculating the public against Covid. Britain was not only the world’s first nation to sanction the use of an effective vaccine when our regulator approved the Pfizer product at the beginning of December, but was also the creator of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, which is easier to distribute because it can be stored at normal fridge temperatures.

Building on these achievements, the Government trumpets the ambitious nature of its programme. According to the Prime Minister, 1.3 million people have so far been given either the Oxford or the Pfizer vaccine, including almost a quarter of the over-80s who make up the most vulnerable group in the population.