The vaccine, like the virus, will come in waves – should we be worried?

You report that the Royal College of GPs believe that there will be logistical problems in rolling out the vaccine ('GPs declining to sign up to Covid vaccine rollout scheme amid ‘challenging workload’', 12 December).

I could not agree more. If, as planned, my local surgery will be open from 8am until 8pm, seven days a week, for the first three weeks they will no doubt inoculate hundreds of vulnerable patients. There will then be a three week period in which no new patients will be able to receive the jab, as the initial hundreds of recipients will be returning for their 21-day booster.  

So, like the virus, the vaccine will come in waves.

Colin Burke

Cartmel

Sunday marked the anniversary of the Tories’ general election win just days after the 60th anniversary of ITV’s Coronation Street with its storylines awash with intrigue, deceit and calamities.

It’s been much the same in Downing Street – particularly since the current incumbent of No 10 moved in – with viewers left wondering after each episode what could possibly occur next. Indeed, most of the time, even the cast seem not to know.

Roger Hinds

Surrey

Michael Toner concludes his piece today with the words: “We were a free, sovereign and independent nation for a thousand years before we joined the EU. We didn’t do too badly then, did we?” ('Leaving the EU without a trade deal is better than staying within the bloc’, 13 December).

Like so many other Brexiteers, the “we” he is referring to is England. The UK did not come into being until 1 January 1801, with the Acts of Union of Great Britain and Ireland.  

As to whether the UK didn’t do so badly, the steady decline in economic and international political power after 1945 led to the UK wanting to join the EU in 1973, as it saw this as the only feasible way of retaining some level of influence in an increasingly interconnected world.

Graeme Preston

Larnaca, Cyprus  

If I may, I have a quick response to Michael Toner’s piece in Monday’s edition. We have indeed survived far worse, except that many didn’t survive – and many won’t. Secondly, we weren’t being led by Boris Johnson and his inept circus of a government.  

I am not against Brexit (nor I am I against the EU). But 2015, in the midst of growing financial and refugee crises and in the grip of austerity and rising nationalism, was not the time to enter into a narrow debate about EU membership.

I believe that when our demise as a sovereign country comes, it will have little to do with the EU or Brexit, but will be at the hands of the most inept and corrupt government this country has had in my lifetime.  

Chris Smith

Bishop Auckland

Never in my lifetime can I remember a Tory party in government less in tune with the priorities of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the corporate world.

The CBI may, in the past, have had more effective leadership, but the real answer lies in the changes to the Tory party and its MPs. The Tory party in the past was more of a broad church. Thatcher's cabinet had the "wets", as well as the hardline Thatcherites, and was tuned in to the priorities and agenda of the corporate world.

The modern Tory party in government is a different beast. Its focus is narrow, and as was seen a little over 12 months ago, those not "on song" were given the boot. The narrow focus has been driven by Brexit and the perceived political need to hijack the Ukip agenda. 

There has been no consideration of the needs of industry and business, or any real attempt to appreciate the impact of Brexit on all parts of the UK economy.

John E Harrison

Chorley

The French threatening to leave us more of our own fish to eat could be a good thing, after all.  

If we all ate more fish, it might reduce the chance of us putting on too much weight and suffering severe forms of Covid-19. How thoughtful of you, Monsieur le President!  

Dr Gordon Brooks

Gosport