New wave?

I was watching our hapless health secretary speaking to the House of Commons earlier, reading out some stuff about London being chucked into Tier 3 on Wednesday night. As it had already been leaked to the media long before the announcement, I wasn’t paying that much attention until, that is, he mumbled something about there being a new variant of coronavirus sweeping through London and the South East. What? I thought. Does this mean that all these fancy Dan vaccines will either not work or being less effective? Matt said he’s told the World Health Organisation (WHO) and sent off some samples to Porton Down so don’t worry. Everything will be fine. Won’t it?

Once again, I am hanging on the every word of experts, and obviously I don’t include Hancock in that description. I want Chris Whitty, Patrick Vallance and Jonathan van Tam to tell me what all this stuff really means. Should I be bricking it or is this normal, whatever normal is? I certainly don’t want Boris Johnson’s views. You know, the Johnson who promised us that the virus would be wrestled to the ground in 12 weeks, probably by a Big Daddy splash (one for the teenagers there), or when that turned out to be bollocks, things would be back to normal by Christmas. I don’t know what it means. And I do want to know what it means.

It doesn’t take much to lower my mood, whilst at the same time raising my anxiety levels, so I really don’t need this. I’ve only just finished blubbing following the death of one of my cats and the waterworks have today been on and off again at the news of the passing of Gerard Houllier. Now I like Liverpool, but why am I getting so emotional at his passing? Because I’m all over the place at the moment, that’s why, and I want certainty in the most uncertain times of my life.

So, a message to scientists. Is there anything else to worry about with this variant? Do I need to write-off 2021 already? Just give it to me straight so I can go to bed and stay there until 2022.