Britain and the EU must compromise on vaccines to beat coronavirus

Editorial: We should be setting an example of internationalism and cooperation because no one is safe until we are all safe

(Dave Brown)

The first anniversary of the announcement of the first lockdown was, inevitably, a moment for reflection and for remembrance of the more than 140,000 loved ones taken before their time by the disease, and the many more affected by its aftermath and wider impact.

One of the many things that would have probably startled the British at the time would be if France was placed on a “red list” of banned countries for travel by the spring of 2021, and that a prohibition on foreign holidays might last until July or longer – with a £5,000 fine attached to any attempted escapes.

The reasons might have been better understood – the persistence of Covid-19 and the successive waves of infections that have hit the world ever since the virus emerged in late 2019. The better prognostication would have been the arrival of effective vaccines in record time and delivered in record numbers – more than 800,000 in one day. More depressing would have been the notion of post-Brexit Britain and the UK being embroiled in an ugly “vaccine war”.