THE POSITIVE PROFESSOR

CMO of Rutherford Cancer Centres and Former Director of WHO Cancer Programme

SOCIAL media’s voice of calm Karol Sikora has been signed up by the Daily Express. Readers can now enjoy his soothing advice in these troubled times that has won him hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter. If you need reassuring everything’s going to be all right read Professor Positivity.

TODAY is one of the most important days we’ve had in the fight against this dreadful virus.

By the time you’ve read this, it’s likely that thousands of people will have received the first dose of the Oxford vaccine.

Getting Pfizer’s rolled out has been a huge success so far and it will no doubt save many lives, but the availability and accessibility of the Oxford vaccine is a game- changer.

Unsurprisingly, there have already been bumps in the road and squabbles about how many are actually available, but I’m desperately hoping that they have been overcome. Of all the daunting tasks the

It was a relief to see ministers talk about cutting red tape... now is not the time for forms

Government has had to face this year, the vaccine rollout is easily the most important.

It was a relief to see ministers talk about cutting the red tape and bureaucracy that was putting off retired health professionals from applying to help.

Now is not the time for unnecessary forms and paperwork – if they have the skills and are willing to help, get them involved.

I intend to use my platform to reassure people about the safety of the vaccines. There is a lot of hesitancy out there and to be honest I understand that.

The process has moved quickly, but it has all been done with safety as the number one priority.

If not, our stringent regulators would never have approved it.

The rollout of the vaccine is a triumph for modern science and a testimony to the hard work put in by so many in 2020.