26th January 2021 - A Catastrophic Day for the UK
Yesterday, here in the UK, we passed 100,000 deaths due to the Coronavirus. 100,162 people have died now in the UK during the worldwide pandemic. When the pandemic is over, let's hope sooner rather than later, our Prime Minister said we will hold a Memorial day for everyone who has died. Some people have already set up support groups for those who have been left bereaved. This has been the saddest year of my life and I hope never to see this again in my lifetime. I would hope my children and grandchildren never see it again either. I think I have been reduced to tears every day!
Yesterday was also the anniversary of the death of Edward Jenner, a British doctor who was the first person to have the idea of immunising others. He noticed that milk maids did not get small pox and he wondered why. He found out that the milk maids caught cow pox, which was not serious, but did not get the dreaded small pox.
Edward Jenner was so convinced that his theory was correct, he even injected his small eleven month old son with the 'cow pox' pus. He was ridiculed up and down the country for his beliefs and people thought him quite mad. But he was not mad, he was correct and because of his insistence in the 'truth' he led the way to immunisation against all sorts of horrible diseases.
We watched a television programme about the Coronavirus and how the staff in our hospitals are struggling to cope. It showed how stretched the staff were in the intensive care wards. How nurses were having to tell wives that their husbands were dying and the unmentionable strain of it all. An old man spoke, saying how he had not believed in the virus and had not taken any precautions. He was now in hospital, struggling to survive. He said 'Believe in it and do what you can to prevent it, it is real and it can kill you.' We were told that Covid deniers were outside of the hospital at that very moment. How angry that made me feel! How dare they flaunt their lies, especially around a hospital. How could they? I think in this instance they should be arrested and put into prison for doing that. I know this country has free speech, but lies are not free speech. Lies are dangerous!
At this moment in time, over 4,000 people are in hospital on ventilators and the staff are exhausted! Many of them out sick with Covid 19 and their colleagues having to take up the slack and do extra hours.
As we have the National Health Service in the UK which came about in 1948, I have had every vaccination going and have never seen an epidemic of any disease in my lifetime until now. I am so grateful for this and so grateful for a humble country doctor called Edward Jenner, whose ideas and consistent hard work will save us from this Covid 19 horror! And of course the scientists worldwide who have brought us these new vaccines. We have now vaccinated over six million people here in the UK and that programme continues and will continue until we have all been vaccinated.
Keep safe everyone, the end is in sight!
27 January 2021
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... and nothing but the truth
Short StoryThis is a book of true stories, anecdotes and little snippets. I hope you enjoy them. There may even be a little poem or two, you never know!
