Give the government a break on the rollout of the vaccine

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A nurse prepares a dose of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine  (EPA-EFE)

I am certainly no admirer of the government and its capabilities, including among much else its response to date to the pandemic.  And I have sympathy for your correspondents who have been complaining that their relations over 90 haven’t yet been called for a jab – I’m in the same position and it’s frustrating.  

But the vaccination task is huge, and not everyone can be done first. As the target is to complete the first groups by mid-February, some will need to wait until mid-February for their jabs. 

For the same reason, media focus on the uneven rollout of vaccinations across the country is unfair and unreasonable. It takes time to establish all the facilities, organise the staffing, manufacture the vaccine, prepare and distribute it. And, of course, the administrative task of marshalling and recording is gargantuan. 

I'm surprised to be saying this of our government, but give it a break on this – we know that its target is purposely challenging, but it is actually making good progress towards it, and if it gets anywhere near it, which looks likely, well done. 

Tim Sidaway

Hertfordshire

What mistakes?

Your editorial on 16 January said "it is clear that Boris Johnson is not learning quickly enough from his mistakes", that is unsurprising when he never even admits to making any.

Eddie Dougall

Suffolk

Basic human rights

The Conservative government should be ashamed of its record. Child hunger, austerity, abject poverty, Brexit, the curtailment of the welfare system, the dehumanisation and demoralisation of refugees and asylum seekers… more importantly, Covid-19 has opened the festering wounds of social and economic inequalities, loneliness and mental illnesses. 

It’s time to put human rights-based approaches at the heart of public policies or risk disappearing in the alleyways of history.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London

Skip the GP

Mr Camp's letter summed up why, when a friend tipped us off that our hospital was offering phone bookings for the over-70s, we jumped at the chance to get our vaccinations. We did not much fancy the chances of our GP's system finding us efficiently, if at all, and certainly not getting down to the “Ws” any time soon.

Colin Wright

London