Brighter days are ahead
After a turbulent start to 2021, I’m delighted to be writing my second piece of the year with a renewed sense of optimism.
A hundred days since Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer jab, more than half of the adults in the UK have already stepped forward to take the vaccine against Covid19 – protecting themselves and those they love. In the war against this terrible virus the vaccine rollout has represented our D-Day, the beginning of our fight back.
In our area, local health and care staff have been as outstanding as ever during the last 12 months, proving heroes wear scrubs not capes. It was an honour this month to join the volunteers and medical professionals at Solent View Practice to assist with the vaccine clinic.
Thanks to the monumental success of our vaccination programme and the diligence of local people in following lockdown restrictions, we can now very clearly see sunnier days on the horizon.
Since my last piece in February, the prime minister has set out the government’s roadmap out of restrictions
– the cautious but hopefully irreversible path to our freedom.
What has remained unchanged since the start of the pandemic, however, is the overwhelming sense of community spirit that has carried us through. Residents stared down adversity with the resilience, ingenuity and kindness so typical of our area.
I’ve been completely blown away by the selfless acts of so many – from the volunteers in organisations like Gosport Voluntary Action, Food for Families and Acts of Kindness, to all the considerate individuals helping with a neighbour’s shopping or collecting prescriptions.
We will all remember the Queen rallying our spirits with her touching ‘we will meet again’ speech and every day we get closer to that reality. Like most people, I have missed my friends and family and I can't wait for us all to be reunited.
It’s this valiant effort that we must remember and hold on to as we leave lockdown behind. It’s with that spirit that we will continue our fight back to life as we knew it.