18th September 2020

Vaccines. Clearly the hope for a vaccine, that can protect against coronavirus and make it possible for the world to return to some semblance of normality, is very strong.

Not everyone thinks so, however. Some ‘anti-vaxxers’ oppose anything that a government might impose.  They seem to imagine that along with the vaccine we might be injected with something that will put us involuntarily in the hands of powerful corporations or individuals.

There’s a less extreme ‘anti’ response to vaccination, born of a growing sense of distrust. The jury’s still out on Russia’s vaccine – how effective is it? How widely has it been tested? Donald Trump hints that the US will have a vaccine before election day, but a growing number of far-from-extreme US citizens who are suspicious of his motives say they won’t use it.

We’re left to listen to what we consider to be the most reliable voices, to decide how much we are prepared to trust scientists, politicians, journalists – whoever.

This much is true – you don’t need to be very medically clued in to understand it – a vaccine needs to be given to lots of people to work and there are real issues about who gets one and how and to whom it will be distributed – and how it’s all going to be paid for.

Maybe in the end a vaccine will be developed. But we will still be living in a world where some have more than enough and others have hardly anything. Who will save us…?

Michael Docker