WE may not have got a world-beating track and trace system, but we do have a world-leading vaccination roll-out programme, and it is brilliant that our region is now going to be contributing to the production of vaccines, which are the only way out of the present pandemic.

The vaccination roll-out is not without fault – we continue to be concerned about local availability – but by yesterday, 7,891,184 people had received at least one dose. We are on our way…

It is worth bearing in mind that this has been done from a standing start. Vaccines have been developed, tested and now produced to combat a virus that was unknown 15 months ago. It is a tribute to man’s ingenuity, and we congratulate all involved, from scientists to NHS staff and supply chain managers, and including the 532 volunteers in Hartlepool who bravely trialled Novavax.

And Government ministers are included in that. Without indulging in vaccine jingoism, the UK had the foresight to invest in and place up-front orders for vaccines when other countries didn’t, and, by using the NHS without bringing in private companies, the roll-out is going pretty smoothly. If only other aspects of the outbreak had gone so well…