December 20

Well, sadly, my euphoria at having been vaccinated didn’t last long. I made the mistake of putting in some thorough research as to the coverage gained from a single dose of Pfizer Biontech, and the results are extremely depressing.The best information I have found is on the BBC Website “How effective is a single vaccine dose against Covid 19?” It deals comprehensively with the complexities of how each vaccine works and its conclusions, after much detailed analysis, seems to me to be that no-one knows what will happen if the second dose is delayed by 12 weeks, not even whether there will be any protection remaining in those who have had the first.

These are quotes from the article written by Zaria Gorvett.

“According to Pfizer data published in December 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is roughly 52% effective after the first dose. Out of 36,523 participants in the phase three trial – the final stage of testing where people either received two full doses, 21 days apart, or a placebo – who had no evidence of existing infection, 82 people in the placebo group and 39 in the vaccine group developed Covid-19 symptoms.

However, this early protection comes with some important caveats. First, the protection doesn’t kick in until at least day 12 – until then, there was no difference between the two groups. Secondly, one dose is still significantly less protective than two. The latter is 95% effective at preventing the disease after a week”.

Pfizer and BioNTech themselves have already urged caution on the grounds that their data ends at day 21, and “there is no data to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days”. It’s possible that the protection people seem to have will suddenly drop off after that point – in fact, this wouldn’t be surprising based on the way the immune system usually works. “

I stress that these are excerpts from a website, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210114-covid-19-how-effective-is-a-single-vaccine-dose.

I have no medical knowledge and anyone interested in the full story should research for themselves . However, I would add that in last night’s “Newsnight” on BBC2, it was suggested the latest research shows only 32 per cent protection after one dose.

The fact that there are no data to show that there is ANY protection left if the second shot is left for longer than 21 days has certainly blown away any of the excitement and relief I had gained.

In the meantime, Labour Peer, Joan Bakewell, concerned at the decision to delay the second dose, has crowd -funded legal representation to sue Matt Hancock for the decision. Bakewell, says “Older people are in limbo: they need to know whether delaying the Pfizer Vaccine is both safe and legal. I am bringing this case because I believe the government needs to make this clear.”

Her case is principally concerned with whether the government has the right to flout the conditions under which the vaccine was authorised and as Bakewell says, “there’s a bigger question, too: should medical procedures be overruled by political and social needs. ” 

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To end on a more cheerful note:

CHEESE STRAWS!!

Before this latest lockdown began, “The Writer” and I visited Marylebone Farmers’ market.

Our friend, Trish, makes THE BEST cheese straws on the planet and, since food treats have become our single most important reward for everything from a hard day’s work to sewing on a button, we were missing her cheese straws, always plentifully strewn on tables during pre-meal drinks, when we visit for her equally magnificent lunches.

Seeing a stall featuring a rustic basket of cheese straws nestled in red gingham that look OK – not up to Trish’s standard, but then that would be like happening upon a unicorn tethered to a Marylebone lamppost – we buy a mass of them at insane urban farmers’ market prices and scurry home.

Only when we take them out of their bag, do we realise that what had looked crisp, knobbly and inviting in the basket are actually flaccid fingers of lumpen dough. We are so disappointed that, in an effort to cheer us up, “The Writer” suggests putting them in the oven to crisp. We wait in anticipation as the smell of cheese wafts through the kitchen – but when they come out of the oven they are transformed only into flaccid fingers of warm lumpen dough.

Sadly, we throw them in the bin and tell ourselves we must be content with the memory of a perfect cheese straw. We reminisce about our last lunch at Trish and Tod’s , the succulence of the roast chicken, the piquancy of the red cabbage, the fluffy crunch of her roast potatoes -and, Oh the cheese straws! We even tell Trish at our weekly Zoom of our disappointing purchase.

And yesterday the cheese straw cavalry arrived! Touched by our tale of woe, Trish laboured all day in her kitchen, made a massive batch of perfect cheese straws and drove them over, sirens wailing as I imagine it, to us and to Amy and Peter.

And here they are – crisp, brittle and flaky, studded with succulent knobs of tangy cheese- some – the most sought-after – even frilled with extra cheese around the edges. We ration ourselves to two with morning coffee in order not to eat the lot at one go, and agree only to indulge if we are both present to ensure equity. Nevertheless, during the following days, the contents of the tin mysteriously diminish. It’s as as though one of us is sneaking into the kitchen and snaffling a cheese straw when the other hasn’t been consulted and isn’t looking.

Could it be me?