Opinion from Paula Thelwell
JUST as the Delta (Indian) Covid variant made its inevitable way to Jersey, the authorities continued with the easing of restrictions, most notably relaxing mask-wearing.
This appears to be a risky strategy considering that the new dominant variant is 90% more contagious than the Alpha variant, previously known as Kent or UK.
Moreover, while two doses of both AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are shown to reduce hospitalisations and fatalities by over 90%, they offer less protection from infection by the Delta strain than the Alpha one.
Last Monday the NHS released findings of the latest research into the efficacy of vaccines. This showed that AstraZeneca gave 60% protection against the Delta strain, compared with 73 per cent for the Alpha variant, whereas two weeks after a second dose, Pfizer provided 79 per cent protection against Delta and 92 per cent for Alpha. Just my luck. Go to the top of the class for guessing which one I had.
With another new variant identified in Moscow – and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine shown to be only 58% effective against it – coronavirus in its myriad forms is going to be around for many years to come.
Which is why the scientific advice is that wearing masks, working from home and keeping a distance of two metres may still be necessary over the winter and even longer.
Moreover, we are all under threat from further Covid mutations, which all the current vaccines could be useless against.
All we can do is put our trust in science and do what is expected of us, not just selfishly protecting ourselves and those we are closest to, but everyone around us.
We are at the beginning of the age of pandemics. The UK is entering its third wave, and regardless of the success of the vaccination programmes, infections are predicted to rise considerably as will hospitalisations and deaths, but not on the tragic scale of the first and second waves.
And to add to parents’ concerns, the NHS has warned of a risk of respiratory infections among babies and young children which have been recorded in other countries coming out of Covid waves.
It seems to be never ending.
The human race has been plagued by deadly disease since time immemorial and our supposed advances in medicine were useless in preventing the Covid-19 pandemic.
What we cannot do is keep running down rabbit holes and hiding; there are ways to live with Covid until it becomes just another infectious disease that requires routine vaccinations. And if that means mask-wearing becoming mandatory, along with washing hands and socially distancing with strangers then so be it.
It is a small price to price to pay for keeping people in work, cultural and hospitality venues open, children in school and students at university.
Ding dong
WHEN I occupied the Boulivot heights on the border of Grouville and St Saviour I was within hearing distance of three lots of church bells: Grouville, St Luke’s and St Saviour.
It was reassuring to hear them strike the passages of time and especially when awake at night as the sound of melodic dongs could travel farther as the Island slumbered.
Not so anymore in Kenton, Devon, where the bells of the ancient village church have been muffled after a couple who had moved from the Big Smoke complained the noise was keeping them awake at night.
The council’s ’elf ’n’ safety zealots served a noise abatement order as the bongs were deemed to exceed acceptable noise levels.
Instead of listening to more than 120 residents, who were outraged at the decision, they reacted to a complaint from just two.
The countryside is full of sounds, smells, activities – and ancient church bells – that may not appeal to all tastes. If you cannot live with them a rural location is not for you.
Whatever happened to democracy?
THANKS to the perpetually angry, easily offended, overly sensitive and constantly complaining snowflakes, the most precious of human rights went out the door long ago, sadly followed by freedom of speech, tolerance, pragmatism, compromise and pluralism.
Double standards
I WAS somewhat amused to see the amount of plastic involved in the
climate change protests that took place around the G7 summit in Cornwall’s Carbis Bay.
And this from people supposed to be dedicated to saving the planet in a county that is banning the sale of plastic bodyboards and endeavouring to persuade surfers to switch to wooden alternatives.
The waterborne protests included surfboards, paddle boards, inflatables and ribs but the prize for the utmost hypocrisy went to a couple interviewed for the BBC’s six o’clock news sheltering from the infamous Cornish mizzle under clear plastic domed umbrellas.
A very transparent example of do as I say, not do as I do.
