It’s wrong to say we’ve let guard down against Covid

IT has been recently reported in the media that as a nation we have let our guard down when it comes to Covid-19.

It’s my considered view that as a nation, the majority of citizens have not let their guard down.

I truly believe that as a country we have done pretty much everything asked of us.

We have rolled out a fantastic vaccine programme and the vast preponderance of Irish people have taken the vaccine.

We have had the longest level of restriction in Europe and for anyone to say that we have let our guard down is, to me, being somewhat disingenuous. We still see our people adhering to the wearing of masks in supermarkets, libraries, banks, post offices, etc

That’s why we need to applaud our people for getting on board with what was asked of them.

I would now exhort our Government to expedite the administering of the booster jab. I would also encourage this administration to inspire its citizens to embrace the use of rapid antigen testing too.

We need to put a stop to shaming people and move towards an encouraging and supportive message around being vaccinated. It’s been said that the immunity from the vaccination may be waning. It happened in Israel and I have no doubt our Government is acutely aware that this may now be coming down the track for us too. It’s my contention that the vaccination booster needs to be rolled out immediately.

It’s also my view that the checking of vaccine certificates in certain venues is sketchy at the moment. Restaurants appear to have been the best in following through on this, whereas it’s been widely reported that cinemas have been somewhat poor in this area.

If you haven’t been vaccinated, it’s my opinion that you should not be allowed into a venue.

It’s good to know that comfortably more than 90% of people have had at least one vaccine, because the inference is that this cohort is open to being fully vaccinated. I do think it’s important that we all be encouraged to reclaim our lives, and I truly believe the vaccination certificate is now the way out of this imbroglio.

This may sound discriminatory against people who have not been vaccinated, but this is the situation in which we find ourselves. I would not make any apologies in taking this stance. JOHN O’BRIEN, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.

Amess had principles

DAVID Amess’s murder has robbed humanity of a decent man, and if animals could speak they too might lament his tragic passing. He was a longtime supporter of campaigns to ease the plight of non-humans. Mr Amess highlighted the cruelty of puppy farming, fur farming and badger culling, and in 1988 championed a bill that banned the inhumane tethering of horses, donkeys and mules.

As a patron of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, he helped to raise awareness of the suffering caused to animals for human amusement. Our own politicians could take a cue from this worthy parliamentarian by taking a stand for the animals and backing campaigns to end organised cruelty dressed up as ‘sport’. RIP David Amess, a man who walked in the footsteps of St Francis.

JOHN FITZGERALD, Callan, Co. Kilkenny.

Same old story

THE decision by Leinster House to send representatives to Armagh to mark the centenary of Northern

Ireland gives legitimacy to the imposed partition of the island and the hostilities that followed against the Irish people.

However, it will not surprise anyone as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have continually ignored the sovereign rights of citizens in the occupied six counties, and the parties’ historical record shows they never had any intention of challenging the UK government’s illegal claim over the North. NOEL HARRINGTON,

Kinsale, Co. Cork.