The situation reads like a particularly rubbish disaster movie sequel. Just when infection rates were slowing down and the chance of seeing frail relatives at Christmas seemed within reach, new viral strains have appeared. Cue Boris getting back on the telly and a lot of graphs saying Important Things. The upshot is twofold. Firstly, life isn’t about to get any easier. Secondly, southerners are finally getting their punishment for talking too posh: their Christmas is canceled.
From a purely Hollywood-script perspective, the new viruses are a bit of a disappointment. Current data suggest they are no more lethal than their mum, and that our admittedly sparse current vaccine arsenal is just as good at coaching our bodies to kill them off. But they are also far more transmissible than their predecessor. They are currently festering in the UK’s southeast regions, so the UK government’s response has been to put the southeast back into lockdown.
In itself, creating the Great Prison of Entitlement is a fairly reasonable approach: containment should stop the loutish lipoprotein ball from spreading to more gravelly-accented areas. But viewing this in the context of the government’s more general approach to the pandemic may remind you of a Benny Hill Cop: an embarrassing mess of pointless back-and-forth with a kazoo soundtrack. The political weighting associated with the term ‘Cancelling Christmas’ does not help. (Interestingly enough, at the time of writing, the tabloids have yet to dub Boris ‘the Brinch’. He should be grateful.)
Pitchforks are already being pointed at the perceived culprits responsible for this overall messy image, and it’s not just the government on the hook. Presumably worried about his sketchy reputation for details, Boris has been at pains to be seen following the science at all times, alternating between excitedly chasing white-coated men around and holding charts in front of himself like a human shield. As a result, the entire establishment of evidence-based practice is now effectively on trial by public opinion. It will probably be found guilty by association.
The damage dealt by loss of faith in clinical evidence is already well underway. Those who refuse to wear facemasks and shun vaccines must feel vindicated. More blows will quickly fall in the form of increased subscriptions to faith healers, followed by higher demand for just about anything with "Crystal" and "Traditional" in the title. Down the line, we can look forward to skyrocketing subscriptions for Vibrational Energy Cream, preferably taken in the presence of a hessian-skirted ‘Wellness Guru’ in a yurt.
The flight from science, then, will leave a trust vacuum ready to be filled by Homeopathic Aftershave and Dreamcatcher Underpants. Bluntly put, these have bugger-all measurable effect on anything. Be grateful, because the path to regression will eventually yield ‘natural’ lead-laden skincare and skull-drilling for headaches. And that really will read like a disaster movie.
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