Little by little...

The pandemic is certainly not over – but at last we can see a shaft of hopeful light at the end of Covid’s long, dark tunnel.

And that is down to the phenomenal success of our vaccination programme.

Which is why we welcome the news today that the jab rollout to include youngsters aged five to 11 is to begin this week.

Infections have been rising in this age group while going down elsewhere.

And although hospitalisations are mercifully rare, serious illness is still a possibility.

Vaccinating young children will also help greatly to protect any vulnerable adults with whom they come into contact.

Some parents will be understandably concerned about jabbing children so young. They may have seen anti-vaxx propaganda.

But the scientific community is overwhelmingly of the opinion that a third of the adult dose is safe. And vaccination today holds the promise of a better tomorrow for us all.