let it be an arms race based on a sunday school very dramatic development the only thing i'm going to do is east i don't see how that strategy will be successful very critical time time to see. tom. welcome to the alex simon show from scotland will be time once again to the issue which has dominated the last year the covert pandemic united kingdom is well ahead

of the pack in the vaccination stakes but neither house there was a death toll per 1000000 of any major country in the world was even than the united states of america today we turn to vaccination has the cavalry finally arrived to cope with whatever of the virus consider what else we speak to professor look at meal of trinity college dublin to assess the bottle between the vaccine and the virus then we had give you professor some honey buns president of the b.m.a. and former chief medical officer for scotland to tell us why public health measures are still vital to control the pandemic. all that coming up later in the show but 1st your tweets emails and messages and a big reaction to show on the the life of play say the jimmy reed and what's the scotland's national bob robert burton's scotia says excellent coverage of the huge admitted biography great from billy kay and the buttons and to view a marvelous watch and then glen miller says nobody ever cites bombs as well as

billy kay does perfection and reflection jimmy reed speeches were radical delivered on velvet and alan jones says a bob showed of passed by when he ewing watched a video of jimmy reed on parkinson as mentioned in the show boy do we need jimmy today and i will said norcross courts jimmy reed from one his most famous speeches will be no hooliganism they'll be no vitalism been a bevy n. because the one old is watching great man says listen the news she's defending to jimmied speech to the the upper clade shipbuilders what can very very famous speech indeed jackie blair says this is brilliant especially about douglas hume and what jack is the fed into is that the story told by billy k. in the programme of we're using the dough to pull scottish nationalist travelling to a bump in support of tory prime minister douglas hughton and the douglas schubert said

they were using it was a scottish nationalist in his heart but a unionist in his head and got the past room with a ewing. the hat side of the pair that my access wrecked a wrong quoting the bob himself and finally john cooper said that's going to be a good reduce the offending to the new brooklyn jimmy reed by brian mcguigan coming out in time for the festive on a vastly of the u.c. s. work and he can't wait says says john and then we turn to a topic of the day's show the topic has dominated conversation across the planet over the last year of the the pandemic the crown of a. wireless professor look at beal of trinity college dublin is a man who knows more about vaccines than most professor neil in your assessment where are we with this struggle that's developing between the vaccines on the one hand and the violence on the other well that's the big question alex in a way i mean we're making great progress let's make not no doubt about that i mean

the rate of oxidation in the u.k. for example is spectacular with the c.n.n. israel every country is happening up with an aging company and it is awful with the virus for definitely the most important thing now is the actually to get the vaccine out as quickly as we can because the more explanations that happen the less chance there is for the united and you variants to crop up that we're seeing more and more of you know but so far so good as a question of keeping focus now on this huge nation come back and fire such a difference between the vaccination rate across similar countries i mean the u.k. is about 12 percent of the population already vaccinated across the european union it's more like 2 or 3 percent and some countries like israel are a roaring ahead than of vaccinated or a 3rd of the population already why such a difference between the the roll out rate and various countries. we've got we've got to get credits in israel and the u.k. alex on this one because they really got their act together you know and it is

a just they don't this is simply a case of getting to supply and getting the vaccine out deploying people in centers and you know the rate through which people go through centers on this thought was really important and it's why i got in early got a big on with pfizer probably paid a premium we think is the rumor netanyahu himself in the negotiating some talk about getting stuck in and then a very white house service in israel has 4 separate health regions and they really got behind it's not the u.k. similarly had a great tradition of course of science in this area you know it was already a back seat initiative that was going on even before co you see so so and i could be deployed to great effect now the rest of europe will catch up no doubt one issue was there they were trying to coordinate things across the u.n. that may have slowed things down a bit but now for heaven's sake as you have seen in the past week the focus on brussels was a massive partnership and the germans were complaining why are we doing better and i think i'm sure they'll improve we all catch up on the 70 percent. and do

countries basically have the same of of priority in terms of vaccinations starting with the the most vulnerable all the people in the population and walking the way through the various categories i mean for example a number of our viewers tracy on for example roatan to ask why isn't the same chill health worker meeting people every day as part of a job that she's not enough priority to list not begrudging the national health service workers but just asking a question to all countries of the same basic floor flu in terms of who gets vaccinated 1st that it brought me you know i mean you might see a few categories the one about the other in some countries but certainly i had my way my magic wand i'm back like everybody now i would start with now that can't be done because logistics every country would have the elderly the vulnerable the healthcare workers out front and i guess mark up and i see what you might see teachers are about fire engine men or whatever it is you see slight differences in

different countries and the lot but again the goal is to get those groups vaccinated over the course of a few weeks so even though you might be slightly down the list and someone else you'll still be in a certain category that will get the vaccine for most people possible we're going to see a lot of dickering about you over there at this rollout we've got a top vaccines but actually in the field the been obviously pfizer astra zeneca the chinese vaccines the russian vaccine sputnik is a new vaccine they're being developed and livingston and scotland i.v. all based on the same type of vaccine or some vaccines are going to be more efficacious and others for example against the the new variants of the virus yet to come i think that science across the nothing we now understand worked on this for for decades i suppose and there are different types of vaccines of 4 main types are all even before i was roughly 4 different types of acting and accounting on the

both of your last night. against one might work better than the other for instance you know the good news is all for politics the been approved now like for example the most recent one is novak's called a sort of unify seem different to the our name i've seen some that we know that god is you know you've got more shots on goal of a. i mean one will work better than the other along with all these different buy things are there and they may see africa see differences between them you may see more effect than an older population but for the moment we must treat them as a quibble since you know we need to get as many people like snakes as we can now it is true that some of them. for example one of the chinese will sign a farm one that will probably work better against all the variants where as say the the fires of one might work as well against one so we may see slight differences here how they send out the back things that are there are working against very just the way maybe slightly efficacious and other ones i want a really important one in your defense made by coming out about a neighbor that one you would predict could work against most order so it's very

much a work in progress what amazes me always is your never seen an attention on one thing in your life i mean everybody's an expert now often different vaccines and how they might work and so on but still it's a work in progress comparing them and we will chase down eventually on the be one that was dominate the market and house science being caught by surprise by the variance in the violence of the clone of viruses to dictionary when the god is clearly small 2 to me ted but now we have the the can be taishan the south african variation the californian violence it's just a surprise to the science this this bug is proving so adaptable all this is just a question of the the scale and which has affected the planet. yet we know a lot about that site so far if you go back to when this peak began i some of a year ago it was now met maybe in march april times this virus is called sars probably too it's very like sars are also venting about like siblings if you will

we knew sars had a low mutation and in fact if the chance of flu farts it's a 100th of a child me which you know the anchovy is very neat a that would be c. and so it's flu so we thought this would be ok you know a 10th of flu is really good but that was that was a scientific fact the chairman is in the field it's a different story wanted out and about different pressures on different people you begin to see these variants emerge and it's a bit of a disappointment we would hope this won't be the case we hoped it might take a year or 2 for variants to emerge but the fact is we now have at least 4 variants of look different maybe more difficult to vaccinate against and we know about the can't one the b. 117 is more transmissible and that's not good because that means we're really going to affect it per unit time so it's a bit of a work in progress and now of course vigilance is kate now that we know these variants are cropping up we've got to keep a very close eye on that much for even more malign ones to emerge we can do that the good news is the u.k.

again leads the world on this genomics business of reading the virus very closely you see so so now we know what to look for basically and then we get a very close eye on it and then the big question is where are they coming from now it turns out it's likely to be someone who's immunosuppressed who gets infected and the virus never grows in the person's body for a long time over 34 months and every time it divides there's a risk of a new one so the longer it's in someone the greater the risk is a bit of it me taking i suppose so now there are not going out in the field as it where we're seeing pressures on the virus that we didn't necessarily anticipate early on but they're giving rise to beas new variants so it's a really important question it also means alex we must vaccinate the world as quick as we can because it will be there in other countries and it may well be giving rise to extra variants that come into european our ever so so really it puts puts a sort of an urgency to the whole process the way it was urgent already but at the margin. i was saying the a level of opposition to vaccination itself as i'm not the danger that people once

vaccinated don't realize that they are still under those indeed at risk so it's a an office a danger that people might feel invulnerable once a vaccinated them and go back to normal life too quickly that's really important point like so we've got ourselves i think flossed basically vaccines are another weapon to you in this phase of this on them and they're very powerful weapon in fact it's i think most powerful weapon we have but we need to get the weapons off like other areas during a war let's say you're winning you don't cancel the air force then you keep the air force with the ground troops you know so and some of the ways we've got to keep up with all the measures i've been saying this recently in aren't you know maybe not a force not as you but you know the american troops are still in germany a long time out of world war 2 you know so there is always there will be caution you know we will be a bit anxious in the coming months and you must maintain some kind of stringency really in the face of. the pandemic will at some point move to

being endemic and this violence will be endemic across the world will it still then pose dangerous to to the human race will or will we have to be vaccinated every year and against one variant of this violence on another while we want to ice and this is hopefully going to happen if we become like the flu our severe cold ok more now on the flu end of the spectrum because we know it's a bit more troublesome and remember 99 percent of people their own immune system is very good at fighting this virus anyway and that now there are some of those 95 percent are good long term since we worry about we do worry about long how about as well of course but the fact is for the vast majority are immune system is great ice the virus you get over it you may get really infected but you have an almost severe disease just like poles can reinfect in the severe so that's about the kind of way this virus is now if you're protecting the hohner just like for to every winter that's the main weapon and they go then damage and it's

a mild disease in the vast majority of people so so one prediction we definitely have now is beginning every winter it will be i said i think we're covering one thing that was on the flu vaccine protocol you know and then the 2nd thing is it will vaccinate children and then they're protected as they move into a lot of folks in the thick of things to do well because that becomes like an illness that's protective in childbirth beyond you know and those are the things that we're going to move towards i think so if they are i thought every winter there may be a new 2 or 3 strains like mostly when i realize that the current winter flu 4 separate strains in the flu vaccine so we may end up with 3 or 4 striking thing in the vaccine every winter and not only workable i think that's a reasonable enough prospect and certainly it means that we have a way to carry on like we used to with an endemic part professor lookin from dublin many thanks indeed for joining me again on the alex salmond show. yikes join us after the break but i'll be joined by professor hottie bobbins the president of the

british medical association. a area. if. any of. you. new york times says the wall street is one of the last bastions of power to be hopeful run by the populist movement because of the high barriers to entry have and that's right those barriers to entry have been eliminated because of free online

trading because of all the stimulus tax that made a lot of people lots of free cash to happen to do something like this. apparently $65000000000.00 in the forecast of the biggest i plan in the world that which is right and of wall street that's so they've got a wife. and energy and expertise to go after targets out there that they perceived to have stolen their money in 2008. welcome by the joined by professor holly burden so one of the world's greatest experts on public health so holly bombs point should assessment of the vaccine rule to across the u.k. thus far well being they fortunate in getting a large quantity of fight scenes very early on i think that it has been very successful and as much as the peter walsh 'd of people g.p.

but when tears and sore and ready to administer it and their own it you know i was asked to comment on that she may suggest it was a mixed economy g.p.s. doing it as well as large scale but centers and store in the city bench which is the boss and i think go. there when it has that has been contentious is that right scotland has to say to one short it should be given and to say to ensure the region were to move people be vaccinated was one sure it would be possible to bikes in the if you're getting 2 shots the next course . some concern amongst health care workers who are exposed to a daily 'd risk but i think the evidence is showing the domain

the 2nd goes is not necessarily a problem so all i'm fairly relaxed with that as long as the 2nd shot a vaccine does come eventually that's critically important as in the future and if the success of the vaccine will thus far. is that a sign of the splendor of a a national health service so having a command health service with effectively you could get these things done if yes it is scotland. went into a ringback great successes of the past few years has been is an improvement science the idea of collaborative change where instead of having a talk telling people what to do in terms of patient safety in hospitals and improving child health and so 'd if we caught frontline staff together and they came up with i.d.'s which they tested and implemented it and the team working

element of the n.h.s. in scotland has been very very powerful over the past year so it's important that we continue that that kind of approach as we as we 'd see the issue and allow me i'm hearing stories of people beetroot zoe 'd i'm used by taxi rather than find somebody to give it to you you're not allowed to give it to someone who says no out . here extra whatever but it's this not we need to really trust from brain start to do the right thing with that of those low level of public opposition to vaccinations them and some people feel but will be a strong anti virus campaign that doesn't seem to happen and fight people seem incredibly enthusiastic about again. i think the vaccination are you satisfied with the the way the message is being put forward on a public health perspective i think the message you know that the control measures

that have been put in place showed just how serious this virus has to be taken is a lot during the closing of so many different states of our daily 'd 'd life plus the fact that in the u.k. we've seen protests and they asked me people need to realize that this is a very basic. outbreak and therefore i think it has gone a long way towards convincing them to get back c h i still hear stories from g.p.'s about this using it because they think it's cloisonne a service kinda stuff which is no up it's clearly not but that's a very small number of people have have refused it as far as i can tell and hope you explain the supposed the scrap and say on the one hand that the united kingdom definitely the most talented it is among the highest if not the highest of any major come to in the world while on the other hand the vaccination program seems to

be in advance of other countries have been why has the u.k. failed in one aspect but seems touchwood to be succeeding on the vaccination. i think we did too little too late right at the beginning of the pandemic you know i remember right at the start we had chelton races a lot of us tens of thousands of people crowding into the area you had liverpool playing atlantic or madrid and spain was one of the biggest outbreaks at times he of the spanish for coming over and mixing most english footballers and their remember being quite surprised too and then the chief scientist in england was us the poet the dangers of. a mixture you had heard he said was there is new evidence that matches and spread the bias well scuse me if you put you know a 10000 people from a country with a vitus and west 40000 susceptible people i actually

qualified to take it there was a bit of political interference the i don't basically decided it was more important business it's all pretty good to shut down and angling to only shut their fiske off and then instead it was going to shut we did too little too late and therefore it got a hold in our country you know that now i think is the main problem. and then john knows that once people of vats of the they'll think them invulnerable and they can go back through to normal life too quickly and is that a danger to public health at the present moment of the message of keeping up the the guard against the virus a might somehow be lost very very much so this idea that you get the army and that you are vulnerable is just no up going to happen northwest one shot you know they

have the dances that for at least 2 weeks to to see weeks you're still susceptible to say action before the immunology. is in place to protect your brain even after you've had the 2nd shot missed samaritan some different strains that will be slightly more aggressive slate us acceptable to the vaccine and tortured started cheering you know a g h we're going to have this virus around for some time. hopefully we will get it under control and suppressed enough and hopefully when just everyone expects an agent if they get their virus it will damage them so much but we still don't know if having been vaccinated you can carry the virus or over here and spread it to other people why this of the authorities have been slow to move them what would similarly be fairly obvious

a measures to take them in for months ago in the show for example you suggested the the testing of effluent a waste water would be a good early warning signs of via wipe because i read that was being considered just this week or even face some him why could be spared from a public health perspective why face by not compulsively everywhere i think i know the state that specially the u.k. government has been to america so appealing. could crawl savings they didn't want to be seen to be shutting down businesses they want to be seen you know i remember being asked about these mosques on television interview those who are all going to look like chinese people walking around with face masks sort of you know up my hancocks said the evidence and face masks is weak well no it isn't we the evidence is very clear here today maybe rick depending on now you're waiting for and sore

but you know there was a definite lack of appreciation as to how severe this was going to turn out and just how important discipline was in terms of just saying and different protective measures the social inequality aspects of being highlighted by the virus in the course demick world when we. blinking back into the sunlight will. be concentration on how the the poor have suffered fos them foremost from the impact of coronavirus i think i have it in scotland i don't get any sense that conservative government and so this will 'd spend too much time in that. but the fact is that we know that the circumstances in which people grow and are supported as they grow can determine a lot of their outcome their health outcomes are more susceptible to different

kinds of that their city and so on and one of them is their structures francis and we knew all of that if corona virus the more vigorous your stress responses are the more likely you are to damage your mum's intensive care and so on and that me and heart explain the different susceptibility the different more ality in the poorer people i really hope this become this for kisses or attention when the biological consequences of some seem to weaken and quality in particular may impact or in children of poor families whose children move grew up to be more susceptible to a whole range of problems at life and we really need to get a grip of that going forward it will allow more children to grow up and be successful in life and contribute positively to society i won't one of the other

lessons be the great virtue of having a public national health service. oh absolutely. the experience of people in the states who are reliant on insurance and so on you know some of the costs associated 'd with things that here would be taken for granted and just simply dealt with in a consistent over investigates because the money by over investigating it over to tinker dishes is a profit making industry whereas the health services we're seeing here is is an industry that supports the community support society that is far rather have our motto 'd in any conceivable world from america professor how to bombs thank you once again for joining me m l examined joe thank you so pleasure

one year into the pandemic and people are understandably we any of the battle the salvation of the vaccine this time to lies only weapon reach but it's often darkest before the dawn and right note the virus in its variant some ripping through society but we'll discuss the sensor just before christmas the death toll in the u.k. was $60003.00 weeks ago it was over $80000.00 though it's over 110000 rising fast the united kingdom though has the highest death toll per 1000000 of population of any major country in the world. across seoul for that ministrations of the u.k. the vaccination program is proceeding well and new vaccines are arriving to cope and to offer the insurance against mutations of this virus. in the last week the vein of vaccine stopped of commercial production in livingston scotland lancet p. of us confirmed disputant 5 seen at 92 percent efficacy but such as the economy

is right no the strain must be taken by a renewed emphasis on public health measures that has been as yet no satisfactory explanation why the countries which pioneer public health in the victorian period have been so incapable of coping with a 21st century pandemic before live for me and everyone of the show stay safe and we'll see again next week. thanks guys or financial survival. when customers go buy your discipline. then

else will reduce some lower. that's undercutting but what's good for her market is not good for the global economy. parties headline stories this hour taking off for china's flagship english news channel in the u.k. . also ahead italy urges the e.u. drugs regulator to file struck be a valuation of russia. that says europe continues to be plagued by cold by scene shortages we speak to the head of an italian. you know my whole family received sputnik the jobs back in november and now we have a high level of antibodies we know that russia has great scientific traditions so we had no doubts about taking the russian job. and u.k. food banks are inundated busy with pleas for help from societies most for.