Last night, we experienced the full impact of the government’s new Covid rules. We took the Metrobus into town and until we arrived at the University of the West of England (UWE) most, though by no means all, passengers were wearing masks. By the time we left the UWE bus stop, the majority of passengers were not wearing masks. I am not judging people: just stating a simple fact. And once we were in town, the only people we saw wearing face masks were a couple of paramedics on their break grabbing a burger at ‘Honest Burger’ where we happened to be eating. To me, everything about the arrival of this Covid variant feels like last year when the original virus turned up, which is to say a slow government reaction, a kind of hope-for-the-best strategy in the hope that B.1.1.529 is not the Big Deal people think it could be. Rightly or wrongly, I feel the same way, although this could be down to the fact that I am slightly unwell this morning, possibly as a result of having drunk something last night that disagreed with me.
Contrast the UK with Greece where this month they barred unvaccinated people from indoor spaces including restaurants, cinemas, museums and gyms, even if they had tested negative for the coronavirus. And from 16th January, Greeks who are over 60 will be fined €100 per month if they don’t have a vaccine. Isn’t this a bit extreme? I think the answer isn’t a simple yes or no.
Worldwide, ICU’s in hospitals are filling up with the unvaccinated so governments need to do all in their power to ensure people are persuaded that taking a vaccine is A Good Thing for them and A Good Thing for people they come into contact with. And this is basically where my views differ from those of the Greek government. Persuasion is better than compulsion and often the latter can have the reverse effect on people’s actions. And using actual science rather than listening to the anti-vax crackpot conspiracy loons like Piers Corbyn, Right Said Fred and, of course, David Icke should surely be enough to convince even the most sceptical sceptics that vaccines are our way of saving lives and getting us out of this mess.
Personally, I don’t have an issue with Covid passports to enable people to visit places, go to concerts and all the restaurants. We have already experienced this at the Bristol Hippodrome where proof of vaccination was required to gain entry to a show. It was no big deal. But perhaps there could be a compromise.
How about requiring the unvaccinated to take privately paid for PCR tests so they can safely visit restaurants, cinemas, museums and gyms? And what about people who can’t be vaccinated? If they can get proof of exemption from a GP, why not allow them to take regular privately paid for PCR tests or at least lateral flow tests before they go anywhere? After all, no one is safe until we are all safe.
An approach somewhere between Boris Johnson’s laissez faire attitude and Greece’s hard-line rules would surely be better? It would be better to get everyone onside voluntarily, singing from the same hymn sheet, rather than employing dictatorial tactics to bully people into doing stuff, like taking vaccines. To most of us, having a jab makes total sense and is something we actively want. For those who can’t have the jab we should show empathy and for those who refuse to our arguments need to be better and more persuasive and, yes, there does need to be a price to be paid by those who put themselves, and more importantly others, at risk by their recklessness and ignorance.
End of blog thought for the day: I’m still very concerned about the possible effects of B.1.1.529, not least because Boris Johnson’s Bertie Booster bollocks at yesterday’s press conference. As soon as he says something, I am always inclined to believe the exact opposite.
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