Ten million

Yesterday, the ten millionth UK citizen received their first vaccination. THis is a milestone worth celebrating.

It shows what happens when local infrastructure is used to deliver, rather than set up a centralised structure from scratch.

And although this is great news, the UK is not out of the woods yet.

A second dose has to be given, and there is evidence that the longer the gap between does, the more chance it gives the virus to mutate. And the same vaccine should be used for both.

Obviously.

But there is talk of mixing and matching, which doesn't sound so good.

And then there is the Chancellor, who not having learned about the reopening of the economy last May and into summer, wants to see unlocking begin 14 days after all over 50s and those in other vunerable groups have received their second vaccine.

He also complains that scientists are moving the goalposts, and this is because as more evidence emerges, scence changes. It is the scientific method. But the headbangers at the CRG are lining up behind the chancellor to open up the economy at pace.

Nothing really should surpise us any more, but learning from past mistakes, especially mistakes that cost tens of thousands of lives are pretty darned important.

Although daily deths are high, the rolling 7 day average seems to have peaked and heading downwards, hospitalisations peaked three weeks ago, and infections, 5, so we are winning, but we must keep on isolating and being so careful otherwise we shall just let a third, or is it 4th, wave emerge and swamp us all again.

Through the coalition Government under David Cameron, we saw in the field of Law where political dogma trumped fact based decision making, to the point where things like the effect on cutting legal aid, the impact analysis was done after the implementation. And of course, the ultimate in dogma-based policy making is Brexit, where no amount of evidence to the contrary would deflect the domatically pure plath to Brexit nirvana.

As I have said a few times, Brexit and reality now exist in the same universe, and with COVID the actual eefect of political decisions are seen in weeks rather than in years and decades. All there is left is spin, spin to blame the public for the second wave and 100,000 deaths and spin to blame the EU for the Brexit they themselves wanted, negotiated, ratified and now implemented.

The effects seen in NI are as a result of leaving the SM and CU, and will not get better with time, in fact will get worse, as some of the harsher rules will be phased in until the end of July. It was clearly stated in the NI Protocol which was agreed and the basis for the WA in as far back as Novemeber 2019. If they did not read the small print, many of us did, and stated, clearly, that it meant the end of the UK Single Market, Johnson has always denied this, and yet it is implicit in the NI Protocol.

Spin, spin and spin again, Laura and Robert will broadcast it on BBC and ITV, like the useful idiots they are.