YOU would like to think that it would be different. A world in the grip of the pandemic would act collectively to grasp the opportunity for everyone to be vaccinated.

Is it such an ideal to think that individual nations would come together in a humanitarian spirit.

So much is caught up in who does what first and it has become something of a political game and monopoly.

Of course, it is the duty of government to look after the interests of its people, but our overall aim has to be to get hold of this terrible pandemic through mass vaccination.

I fear that many of the barriers relate to politics and profit. Invariably, while so many suffer the consequences of the coronavirus, there are those who have lined their pockets!

If we really care, and there are many examples of great service within the NHS and in the community, this should be translated internationally and globally. Too often nations compete on matters that require compassion, not competition.

We should be in a battle to beat the pandemic and not one another.

I look to the world in the hope that the pandemic can be overcome and everyone can be vaccinated, not just in the rich nations, but in all nations.

Bernie Walsh, Coxhoe