Letters: We can't just carry on regardless. We must heed the experts

Ms Stephenson rejects that, but what qualifications does she have to persuade me to accept her views over those of the UK’s health experts? She hasn’t even listened to interviews with experts in the field. She says that 95% of the adult UK population have antibodies, so we don’t need to worry. As I understand it, the problem with Omicron is that it evades the antibodies, and it’s other aspects of the body’s response, including T-cells, that limit its severity.

But what do I know? I flew aeroplanes for 40 years, and what I know about infectious diseases could be written on a postage stamp. What I do know is that we live in a complex world where we’re obliged to trust specialists in every detail of our lives.

I remember once having passengers complaining about not landing at our intended destination, Kolkata, and ending up in Mumbai for the night. Kolkata was foggy and it was unlikely that we’d be able to land; and, if we’d attempted to land and failed, we’d have had insufficient fuel to reach another runway. Better the inconvenience of getting to your destination a day late than the alternative, surely.

I understand why people are disappointed by restrictions, but it’s foolish to reject expert advice and rely instead on a wing and a prayer. As Neil Mackay pointed out ("Covid crazies are perpetuating pandemic – not health experts", The Herald, December 9), it’s those who won’t accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens who are perpetuating this crisis, not the experts who give their best advice.

Doug Maughan, Dunblane.

WHERE IS THE ANTI-VAXXERS' LOGIC?

MORE power to Neil Mackay. I did not agree with everything he said, for instance about sub-literates. The anti-vax lot includes a good proportion of the well-educated. Many of the Covid patients currently straining the capacity of German hospitals are of the bourgeoisie. An articulate but a bittie daft minority readily leaps to this barricade. I find that a puzzle.

Meanwhile, as I have seen myself visiting a close relative, this has left our own NHS reeling. Nurses exhausted and detached, working 12-hour shifts and staying on unpaid to get things done. And that nice Mrs Patel hunting all those foreign workers back home hasn't helped, but they will not want for employment elsewhere, so others will get the good of them.

As a medic relative explained, Covid is not a nice way to go. I lost a valued acquaintance to it before any vaccine was available, and there have been several close shaves with others who have been smitted, but the hinner end fended off by vaccine. Oh, learn to live with it, they say. Well, consider the lives cut short by smallpox, crippled by polio, or the scourge of TB that went through Scotland's country areas like a knife. All left a trail of heartbreak and wreckage. Would the anti-vaxxers like that back? I cannot suppose so. But where is their logic and sense of social responsibility?

Gavin Sprott, Edinburgh.

* OH to be a fly on the wall in a room with just Neil Mackay and Joanne Blythman present.

Sue Wade, Ayr.

HOSPITALITY MUST BITE THE BULLET

PERMIT me to respond to William Gold’s objections (Letters, December 8) to a vaccination passport system for entry into bars, restaurants, cafes and the like. I fear he has missed the point, that point being that if that the incidence of Covid increases at the predicted rate then all the objections to a passport system will be moot; we will be back to an indeterminate enforced lockdown and the Hielan Jessie Bar and every other bar and restaurant will be closed, many permanently.

Mr Gold lists objections, citing the Licensing Scotland Act 2003. Objections and reasons to do nothing are always easier than concrete action. The Scottish Government introduces new rules and regulations regarding Covid at a couple of days' notice; surely the hospitality industry has the resources to prevail upon the Government to introduce practical measures to check a vaccination passport? Furthermore, every pub that I have ever been in (and that’s a lot, let me assure you) carries a notice stating that proof of identity may be required to verify a legal drinking age. Consequently I assume that every pub employs at least one SIA-qualified person. No-one is suggesting that the passport is checked immediately upon entry, although that would be preferable. In Paris a waiter or barperson would always ask before taking an order, sometimes at the door, sometimes at your table. The point being that there would be no service without proof of vaccination.

Look at what countries on the Continent are doing now: France – compulsory presentation of vaccination passport for all bars, cafes and restaurants. Ireland, ditto; Germany, ditto; Italy, ditto from January 15; Netherlands, bars, restaurants and the like closed from 5pm; need I go on?

I sympathise with Mr Gold, the hospitality industry has taken a beating, but I sympathise more with those who have lost loved ones and those who are still suffering the after-effects of this dreadful disease. And, no, I am not conflating the objections of the hospitality sector with those selfish few who refuse to be vaccinated. But if a small section of society refuse to play by the social norms and duties then unfortunately the rest of us have to accept some measure of minor inconvenience, and that includes the hospitality industry.

Robert Buntin, Skelmorlie.

WE NEED TO LIVE WITH THIS

I AM no Covid denier, no vax denier, I’ve had my two jags and booster. Covid 19 is a bad virus, impacted the lives of millions and killed millions. The world economy apparently has been devastated, the poor once again suffering the most. The richest somehow have increased their wealth in these times.

I am at a complete loss to understand how we are dealing with this new Omicron variant. I have never heard so many so-called experts using words and phrases like "we don’t know", "may", "might", "could be" and so on. Then we get who I think are the silenced experts, who say Omicron is actually not as bad, yes seems to spread quicker, but at the time of writing no deaths and no increase in hospitalisations connected to this variant.

There is a creeping suggestion of new measures, stopping things, changing how we live and impacting on Christmas, families and business.

Stop. We need to live with this. It is bad, worse than the flu. Is it worse than cancer, heart disease and the like? A loved one dying of Covid is no worse than a loved one dying from a preventable disease.

Let’s get this into perspective and start living again.

Paul McPherson, Newtonmore.

PUT THIRD JAG ON THE RECORD

THE Scottish Government is quite rightly encouraging all individuals to get their third/booster vaccination as soon as they are entitled to it. I downloaded a copy of my vaccination letters from the NHS website at the start of September, having had my first and second doses, and the letter states: “This is your NHS Scotland record of vaccination. Keep it safe.”

I attended for my booster jag two weeks ago and after receiving it I inquired how long it would be before I could download an updated copy of my vaccination status. I was astonished to be told that records in the public domain would not be updated with booster details.

Currently when I access my vaccination details on the NHS Inform website, it confirms under “appointments” that I’ve had my third/booster vaccination, but this is not reflected in my online vaccination “record”. As such, it is not an accurate record of my vaccinations. If getting the third dose is so important then it is surely important enough to be incorporated in our vaccination record. I have written to the Scottish Government on this matter and await a response.

Brian Watt, Edinburgh.

* IN the last few days the BMA has declared that being asthmatic is not an exemption to wearing masks. The websites of Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation make similar statements. They even claim that masks do not reduce your oxygen supply or increase CO2 levels.

My own late mother used an inhaler and got very breathless and I can't imagine her wearing a mask. In my view this decision is nothing to do with our medical well-being.

Geoff Moore, Alness.