Yesterday the mayor of London declared a Major Incident due to the virus. Sadly he will be ignored. This is the legacy of years of neoliberalism, aligned with the islamophobic rhetoric that is popularly levelled against him. He is an easy target because of his background. Whenever anything happens in London, and I'm sure this will be no exception, he is blamed because he's a Muslim. Yet in truth, he's not a friend of the working class; he's happily overseeing a great deal of gentrification. His job, performed willingly, is to ensure that London remains the profitable centre of finance it always was. Damn the working class. The virus is a concern and while I'm sure he does care about people dying, he cares more about business being able to proceed as usual. It's a major incident because it threatens the status quo.
What is happening now, specifically the degree to which the virus is being allowed to spread, is a consequence of these power players. Years of gentrification and exploitation. Years of not being listened to are what caused Brexit, are what caused the backlash to immigration - people coming here with whom you have more in common than the people ignoring you. We have to accept this. It's no good calling people racist, though some undoubtedly are, and within this dissatisfaction and disenfranchisement racism breeds like a weed. Now, with Corona fatigue setting in, the result of almost a year of utter mismanagement and corruption (synonyms), people are in the worst place at the worst stage of this crisis thus far. Led by the worst people.
Trump got banned on Twitter.
Today my mpther had her virst dose of the Pfizer vaccine. We of course hope that's sufficient to kee[ her and everyone out of harm's way. She won't get another one until the Spring. So really this is a hail Mary. It's a transparent gamble by a government in shambles. Their last roll of the dice with the grim reaper.
Reading the accompanying leaflet is interesting. It says the medicine doesn't have a UK marketing authorization, whatever that means. Instead the Health department has given authorisation for temporary supply. It is for people 16 years and above. It's not for kids. As I type this, the local kids are all hanging out in a group on the football pitch. This lockdown isn't being taken seriously. That's the case everywhere I fear.
The leaflet was also written before the decision to withhold the second dose. It says you will receive 2 injections 21 days apart, and that protection may not be effective until at least 7 days after the second dose. Let's hope that's not the case then!
In regard to side effects, 1 in 10 suffer pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain or fever. Nothing too serious I guess. 1 in 100 suffer enraged lymph nodes and "feeling unwell". I hope that's not a euphemism.
Overall it isn't anything to stop people getting the damn jab, it's just the rest of us will have to wait a very very long time.
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