Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid need to be clearer about what ‘living with the virus’ actually means

Editorial: The government has thrown all the levers of policy into reverse before Monday’s ‘irreversible’ opening up

Sajid Javid, the double-vaccinated health secretary, announces he has Covid (@sajidjavid/Twitter)

Sajid Javid is just one person, and policy should not be made by anecdote, but there is something telling about the health secretary contracting Covid two days before his government lifts most of the remaining legal restrictions.

The first is that it underlines the problem of vast numbers of people isolating themselves, as he is now required to do. He can carry on doing most of his work remotely, but there are hundreds of thousands of workers who cannot, and the economy – only just beginning to emerge from the lockdown – is beginning to feel the strain.

It may be that this is necessary, as Mr Javid’s case also reminds us that two vaccinations offer incomplete protection against catching (and passing on) the virus. He appears to confirm that a double vaccination protects against serious illness – he said his symptoms are mild – but if the aim of policy is to curb the spread of the virus then it would seem that isolation for double-vaccinated people should continue.