THE POSITIVE PROFESSOR

PROFESSOR KAROL SIKORA

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 have won him hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter. If you need reassuring everything’s going to be all right read Professor Positivity.

I MUST admit, earlier this year, if you had told me we would have an approved vaccine for Covid- 19 by Christmas in this country I would not have believed you.

The work that has gone into this from the scientists, regulators and everyone involved is nothing short of remarkable. There is a genuine end in sight now.

Now that we have an approved vaccine, the focus will turn to the rollout. Making sure the limited supply we have of this vaccine gets to the right people through the right means is no easy task.

The Government has been saying for some time that they are prepared for this, I just hope that they are.

I understand that some feel hesitant about taking the vaccine and it is completely normal to feel like that.

‘ The work gone into this is nothing short of remarkable’

This has all been done at immense pace. This has to be everyone’s individual choice, with no suggestions of coercion. I was deeply uncomfortable with talk from the Government that those who haven’t been vaccinated may be barred from pubs, cinemas or many other things. That is a repugnant suggestion and should not be entertained in any way.

We need to have an open and honest conversation about the benefits of taking the vaccine. Such threats will just force people back into their own corners and opinions will become more and more entrenched.

Personally, I will be taking the vaccine. As an older healthcare worker I suspect I may be fairly high up on the priority list.

If it has been approved by our stringent regulators, then that is good enough for me. But for now, arguments about all of that should be put aside. This is just fantastic news.