Caution: May Contain Logic

Last week it was announced that participation in the Covid-19 vaccine trials will be mandatory for all care workers. I am truly struggling to understand how this has happened in England - it is proving almost impossible to put my reaction into words. In my past 2 attempts to write this post I have been found myself entirely without words. It's a transparently insane occurrence, no matter how the Ministry of Truth try to frame it.  Ministers claim they have passed the mandate out of concern for low uptake of the vaccines in care home workers. This suggestion has provoked two strong responses in my mind that I'm sure we all share: A) Where was their "concern" for carers when they were sending sick residents back into their facilities, instead of the Nightingale hospitals?  B) Why is it not up to the workers what risks they're willing to take? A theme of my objections throughout - adults should have the right to assess the level of risk and make their own decisions 

 If the government cared about the NHS, or cared about public health in any way, here are some things they would have done: Ban Smoking. 21% of hospitalisations for any respiratory disease can be attributed to smoking. Plus 14% of all admissions for circulatory diseases, and 9% of all admissions for cancers. If smoking had been banned or even discouraged in the same way that handshakes have been, for example, the covid risk for smokers would have significantly reduced - after quitting, circulation and lung function start to improve after 2 weeks, and risk of heart attack drops after just 2 days! And this in turn would have reduced hospitalisations and reduced pressure on the NHS. So why didn't they do it?  Keep Exercise Facilities Open.  Obesity is a covid risk factor. Boris told us himself: "my friends, I was too fat". Exercise can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes (another covid risk) and cancer by up to 50%. Not to men