Vaccination programme in the UK

Our Prime Minister didn't get much right when it came to the pandemic. With 4,047,843 cases and more than 117,000 deaths to date we are in a pretty sorry state. Although the lockdown is bringing the R rate down it's going to to be a while before restrictions are lifted and schools can get back to normal.

But one thing Boris did get right was taking a risk on buying in vaccines before they were actually available for use. He had no idea whether they would work but we are now way ahead of other countries with vaccinating the most at risk people with around 17 million of us (including myself) having had our first dose.

Despite the false rumours circulating on social media from anti vaxxers, the majority of British people have opted to take the vaccination as they see it as a way out of this crisis and so far so good. Although it's natural to be concerned about a vaccine that was formulated so quickly they, like myself, are putting their trust in the scientists rather than listen to the conspiracy theories.

One thing I did find interesting was discovering there was a lot of opposition to the Smallpox vaccination back in 1853. People believed their bodies were being controlled. Smallpox was a vile, unsightly and usually fatal disease which has now been eradicated by vaccination.

So when everyone has been vaccinated can we go back to living a normal life? Apparently not, we will still be practising social distancing, wearing masks and handwashing just as we do now long after the autumn which is the target for vaccinating all British adults. Then there are trials running now into vaccinating children so we're still a way from going back to normality. We can only hope that this pandemic, despite leaving many bereaved families behind, will become a distant memory in a few years.