Lockdown by Stealth

 

Have we begun another lockdown by stealth?  If nothing else, the rising uncertainty is reported to be having a significant effect on Christmas bookings in the hospitality industry. Similarly in the residential environment, the prospect of another disjointed festival looms. Like the dissident constantly in fear of a knock on the door by the secret police, we sit on the edge of the sofa waiting for the Prime Minister to interrupt the evening’s viewing with yet another grave announcement (whatever happened to Parliament for grave announcements, by the way).  Perhaps the Prime Minister knows more than he feels able to tell us and, in the interests of maintaining public morale, we should trust his judgement to get on with things on our cowering behalf.  Unfortunately, the evidence of competence is not on his side and our confidence in his authority may be misplaced.  Against the predictable chaotic response to the exhortation for the population to turn up for a free-for-all at the nearest vaccination centre and order a suitable supply of lateral flow tests, we are told that the so-called vaccine passport is essential to prevent spreading “the virus” in crowded settings.  But hang on – to get a vaccine passport and attend potential super-spreader events, I need two doses of a vaccine.  However, according to the PM, two doses of the vaccine are not enough to be effective and so I need a third booster dose. So what, for goodness sake, is the point of a vaccine passport, the qualification for which is an, ineffective, two doses when the minimum requirement appears to be three shots?