Race against time we simply must not lose

THE year 2020 may not have been the worst in the history of this country – but it surely ranks among the strangest.

A year ago, we were muddling along as ever, with only Brexit, Corbynism and melting ice caps to worry about.

Less than three months later the nation was in purdah and effectively being governed by doom-laden scientists.

Face masks, two-metre separation, hugs and handshakes forbidden and the vulnerable elderly dying alone as care homes became houses of death.

It has been bizarre, exasperating and heartbreaking. There are signs though that in 2021 the sun will break through.

Brexit is done, vaccines are being rolled out and experts suggest the economy could soon be growing at its fastest rate since the war. Tomorrow, to paraphrase Milton, we can look forward to fresh fields and pastures new.

Today however, the pandemic still has us firmly in its grip, with infection rates soaring and 44 million people now under the strictest Tier Four restrictions.

There are even question marks over the return of schools after the Christmas break. Allowing them to remain closed would be a grievous error of judgment.

The crippling effect on the educational chances and mental health of the children concerned is incalculable and it would mean their parents being unable to work – inflicting further damage on our ravaged economy. It must be resisted at all costs.

The Government made many mistakes in 2020 but by investing heavily in vaccine development and production, it enabled us to be the first country in the world to begin mass inoculation.

It must now strain every sinew, use every conceivable venue and draft in every available body to get the population vaccinated as rapidly as possible.

With potentially thousands of lives depending on it, this is a race against time that we cannot afford to lose.

Are we as well-prepared as we should be? Worryingly, there are signs we are not.

Speed of vaccination, as Deputy Chief Medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said this week, depends on speed of supply.

So why do we have only 530,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca doses ready for injecting, when India has reportedly produced 50 million? It’s not as if we didn’t know they’d be needed. What have we been doing?

There is also confusion over second jabs. The one million who have already had one injection of the Pfizer vaccine were expecting their booster within 21 days but have now been told it may be 12 weeks.

With the AstraZeneca vaccine, such a delay is fine, as patients have been shown to have a high degree of protection in the intervening period. But Pfizer say they cannot make the same guarantee for their own version. So what’s the truth?

Also, what of this ‘volunteer army’ being mobilised to carry out inoculations?

In the Mail yesterday, Professor Angus Dalgleish warned that even retired doctors and nurses who volunteer must provide up to 21 certifications – including on antiracism and anti-terrorism awareness – before they are allowed to wield a needle.

In time of emergency, insisting on such red tape is absurd. And anyway, why is this army not already in place? We have known for months it would be needed.

We appreciate that this is a hugely difficult and unprecedented logistical exercise. But given past foul-ups over PPE, care homes, and test and trace, ministers simply can’t afford to flunk it.

After his Brexit triumph, Boris Johnson has happily restored some confidence and credibility. For 2021, overseeing an efficient, effective and rapid vaccination programme is his most monumental challenge.

We wish him every success. And to all our readers a happy, prosperous and, above all, healthy New Year.