Politicians feed us Covid statistics – but these numbers represent real people with hopes and dreams

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In a runaway race to herd immunity, the virus will seek out those who are most vulnerable (Getty)

Boris Johnson has explained his decision to remove all Covid restrictions by saying things such as, “continued restrictions simply delay the inevitable”. In other words, some people will die. Fact. Get over it.

When we look at the statistics, it does on face value seem sensible. Infection rates are high, deaths are low, and so a rush to herd immunity is possible. But these numbers being fed to us by the politicians are not just numbers. They are real people, with hopes and dreams and expectations. They are people who locked down with us last year, who walked two metres away from us when we needed a mental health buddy, who clapped the NHS on their doorsteps. And now, is it really acceptable to let them die so we can all go back to buying our sandwiches at lunchtime and drinking our pints at the bar, or watching football?

It gets more scary though when you stop to consider who these unfortunate people are likely to be. In a runaway race to herd immunity, the virus will seek out those who are most vulnerable, in this case the small group of people who have been invisibly shielding these last 18 months. Did we protect all those people with our collective efforts last year just so we can line them all up against the wall now?