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think about them. Who would have thought that a tiny, invisible virus from a bat cave in Asia could bring the world’s economy to its knees and we’d all end up in lockdowns to save the NHS? But that’s where we are.
Until we change how we treat animals, we will continue to be at risk from these “zoonotic viruses” which jump from animals to humans. Prevention is infinitely better than cure! We need to look at this. Bristol is connected to a wider world so what happens elsewhere will impact on us. True also for climate crisis issues.
Alex Gordon
Bristol proven to be true, with Government ministers and right-wing tabloid newspapers doing their best to use the situation to their own political advantage.
For some to suggest that the EU were trying to take vaccine that they were not entitled to is extremely misleading, especially considering the contract between the EU and UK-based AstraZeneca (which is available for all to read) makes it clear that the EU are fully entitled to supplies from UK production plants and that no other contract takes precedence.
When the EU pressed AstraZeneca to honour its contractual obligations, including supply from UK production plants, unsurprisingly, the front pages of the populist tabloids declared that “the greedy/ arrogant EU are trying to take our vaccine”, while totally failing to report the facts of the matter.
It seems the height of hypocrisy to insist that the EU should not have access to UK-produced vaccines while expecting the UK to retain access to vaccines produced from within the EU.
For some politicians to suggest that Brexit in some way helped the UK is extremely disingenuous to say the least, as the UK would have been able to authorise and order whichever vaccines they chose if we were still in the EU.
While many of us are rightly showing our appreciation of the magnificent efforts and altruism of others, some are using the situation for their own political purposes or to sow divisiveness.
So much good work is being carried out by so many, especially those within the NHS and care sector. But a worrying nationalistic, almost football crowd, mentality seems to have become increasingly dominant across the UK since 2016 which sadly appears to often drown out any voice of reason.
Jas Quedgeley