Valentine’s Day Vaccine Hope

With the nation’s first Valentine’s Day under lockdown fast approaching, one thing we can definitely commit to this year is the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

 

By the time that the day of love, chocolate, and flowers arrives, the UK should be on course to providing up to 15 million covid-19 vaccinations. This will mean that individuals in the most vulnerable priority groups will have all received their first dose – this includes the over-70s, frontline health and care workers and the clinically extremely vulnerable.

 

And one of the best ‘sweet nothings’ that can be whispered into our ears this year is the fact that there are early signs emerging that vaccines are actually beginning to suppress deaths among the age groups most vulnerable to the virus. Data from Oxford University’s Centre for Evidence Based Medicine has shown that the case fatality rate for those aged over 80 had dropped by around a third since early January 2021. With this evidence is mind, we should all be encouraging our loved ones who are eligible for the vaccine to come forward for it.

 

While it is still uncertain as to how this news will impact the lifting of lockdown restrictions in the coming months, I am sure this encouraging data will provide us all with a much-needed sense of hope this Valentine’s Day.

 

We are still prohibited from escaping on a romantic getaway with our partners, and a candle-lit dinner for 2 at a swanky restaurant is still off the cards, but at least we are 1 step closer to resuming some form of normality.