They think it's all over

The sheer vainglorious contempt for the European Union by the UK government is typified in the above charts. Although UK citizens can travel abroad if tested, many European countries are red-listed despite having far lower Covid rates than the UK. The second chart shows that many UK regions, mainly in Scotland, have amongst the highest Covid rates in Europe. UK citizens who travel to countries they are allowed to visit are subject to testing and quarantine on return if not vaccinated. It all seems part of the abuse of data that has been a feature of the last 18 months when the UK government has attempted every trick to disguise the fact that it is back to having the highest number and proportion of Covid cases in Europe as was the position before the vaccines came to the rescue. 

If the vaccines are such a success, it is surprising that UK regions are back at the top of the list of countries with Covid. Israel is the country with the best vaccination rates and the highest ratio of Covid cases. It is not that vaccines are not working, all the evidence shows the significant benefits of vaccines in reducing infections and the severity of cases. Is it that the government's relaxation of lockdown, encouragement to get out and support hospitality businesses, the opening up of mass events and because they think it's all over that have led to the surges? It may also be due to the unexplained slowing down of vaccinations. This is particularly apparent amongst the younger age groups who appear to be suffering the most from the recent upsurge in cases. We are almost back at the levels of January and February 2021 and in Scotland the hospitals are at breaking point again.

I have some concerns about the figures published by the Scottish Government about vaccination rates. Public Health Scotland has published information on vaccination rates that show that vaccination rates are 100% for all the over-60 cohorts and 90% and over for the 40-49, 50-54 and 55-59-year-olds. Is this statistically possible? Given that there are significant numbers of frail elderly or people with medical conditions that make vaccination unlikely or not recommended, I think not. Anecdotally, I know of relatives and friends who have been called to be vaccinated by their local GP, who presumably ordered vaccines for them, but who then took the opportunity to get one earlier by attending one of the pop-up vaccination centres. There is previous evidence of health data being incorrect as a result of double-counting, for example, the population on GP lists in Health Board areas often exceeds the total population because people are registered with their original GP as well as a new GP when they move to a new community. As yet no NHS spokesperson or journalist has explained how 100% of some cohorts of the population have been vaccinated

No one wants the current curtailment of freedoms to be tightened. However, the escalating rate of COVID-19, the constantly changing rules, and the visions of crowd scenes at major events are simply exacerbating the doubts of a large proportion of the population. They are stoically avoiding going out to public places and certainly not using trains and boats and planes or for that matter restaurants, sports facilities or workplaces. The chances of getting to see a GP, dentist, or hospital appointment are limited. We live in a different world and until there is a sense that Covid spreading is under control, many people will resist the urge to exercise their fake freedom.

The abrogation of the UK government's responsibility is palpable. According to Nadra Ahmed of the National Care Association 10-15% of carers are unvaccinated. Allowing UK citizens to travel abroad, despite having higher rates of infection than almost all European countries and a contact tracing system that remains seriously flawed is mere Brexit arrogance. The UK government is gung ho for free markets, prepared to heap the blame for spreading on other countries and unwilling to release some of the 540 million doses of vaccine to countries that are suffering the most as a result of a shortage of vaccines. This approach has been recommended by such luminaries as Professor Andrew Pollard and more recently by Professor Sarah Gilbert who were both instrumental in creating the Astra Zeneca vaccine and always saw it as a non-profit resource for global usage.  

At a time when the UK is supposed to be defining a new role for itself on the world stage, it is tragic that we are not using the soft power of vaccines, international aid and climate change as weapons for the global good. Instead, the government are signing up to strategic nuclear submarine pacts, getting ever tougher on immigrants and asylum seekers, allowing the fire sale of UK companies to hedge funds, and routinely abusing or blaming the EU. This is wrapped up in a Union Jack as a half-baked foreign policy. Add a foreign secretary, Liz Truss, who believes that free markets will sort out the mess and routinely is rude to her peers from other countries and we truly are becoming a pariah nation.