Does the booster schedule mean some will have less protection from July?

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Covid vaccine deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi recently announced that booster Covid-19 jabs would only be available from September.

This vague timetable takes no account the potential loss of protection from July for vulnerable adults who had their second jabs in January, as Pfizer has thus far only guaranteed high efficacy for six months after the second dose.

Specific dates for booster jabs addressing this issue are called for as a matter of urgency.

Trevor Lyttleton

London

Chief advisor

Dominic Cummings was, so we were told, Boris Johnson’s chief political advisor. Now, from his own mouth, he seems to be saying that nobody took any notice of his advice. How did he survive so long in the job?

Michael Pate

Preston

Hope for us?

What a triumph of journalism from Mary Dejevsky, regarding the shambles of Covid-19 for which are our government were, and still are, responsible.

Not only does her view of the quality of government leadership echo my own but her insight of other aspects of mismanagement by inept Johnson and Hancock, et al are spot-on.

Let’s not take away the devastation which would be caused if Carrie Symonds’s dog had not been comforted by all and sundry but serves to illustrate just how lightly Covid-19 was taken. Since the start of the pandemic, in Britain, I have sensed that the government have taken a light-hearted, cavalier attitude to its irradiation.

Of course, at the outset of the pandemic, it was thought of as no more than an inconvenience rather than a major concern, which I can understand. However, when, in a very short time, the truth was evident our government still did very little, by way of lockdown or information, to reduce its impact.

This reluctance to act positively and early pervaded throughout 2020 and still is evident today. Why the government apologises for locking down or using other restrictions seems to be absurd when it will save lives.

Ms Dejevsky makes the point that New Zealand had responded better to their pandemic because of their proactive prime minister. Also, Australia was quick to isolate and both continue to be diligent and positive in containing any further outbreak.

Britain was able to close all entry/exit points but chose not to take that course of action. Although we have millions more people than both New Zealand and Australia put together we are a much smaller island to police. As recent history has shown, new strains have been introduced and caused many more unnecessary deaths and suffering by incoming visitors and Britains returning home.

Overall, Ms Dejevsky’s article characterised the standard of competence of our government to rid Covid-19 from our shores and highlighted the competence of our NHS in the teeth of the savage storm of the pandemic. Through the NHS’s resilience and professionalism we have, if unfettered by our inept government, a better chance of winning.

When people seemingly lie to both their boss and to the public, and are incompetent and unfit for office, they ought to resign. But when the boss also acts in the same vein what hope is there for the rest of us? Unfortunately, history will repeat itself so we can expect more lies, incompetence and shameful episodes from those that govern us.

Thanks Mary, especially for the last paragraph of the article, it seems to sum up the nation’s feelings.

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

Reliable witness

I read Cathy Newman's column with interest as to whether the startling revelations by Dominic Cummings will indeed have much impact on the now exhausted public who do not know who to believe or trust in government. But as long as the vaccine wagon rolls on successfully, this will perhaps shockingly not cut through.

But I agree with her, it was riveting because we had the spectacle of an anti-establishment figure who seemingly despises all the political parties in equal measure and wanted to upend all the traditional norms and procedures in government, in confessional mode.

There were some issues raised at to the porous nature of the “Protective shield” around Care Homes and Labour is right to agitate to have this addressed as a matter of urgency. This was a different Cummings on display, who apologised profusely and seemed genuinely disturbed by what he had witnessed and experienced. But the jury is still out on him as a reliable witness but as a cathartic moment for Cummings and a revelatory period for the MPs and viewers, this was indeed a committee appearance like no other and will no doubt be a defining moment for this seismic pandemic period.

Judith A Daniels

Norfolk

Into the abyss

For a democracy to thrive, it needs a strong opposition.

It needs a government elected by a majority of the people. It needs to be vigorously challenged on its policies and their effective and responsible implementation to the benefit of the nation as a whole.

I see neither in this country any longer. We are led by an apparently inept, self-congratulatory elite, out of touch with reality, dreaming of grandeur.

Other countries have fallen into this abyss. Hungary, USA under Trump, North Korea etc.

Where do we see ourselves in 10 years time?

Gunter Straub

London