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Dear Tory MPs that oppose restrictions: focus now, if you truly want to end the pandemic, on eliminating barriers to or speeding up the distribution of the vaccine. Every week that can be gained is billions of pounds of activity and hundreds of lives. There has been seemingly
been a big slippage of dose timetables but producers say they are delivering as promised. So where is the hold up coming from? Govt is talking fatalistically about it, but this is an economic problem, which prices, incentives, and regulations can affect.
Obvious areas of focus: decentralising distribution, broadening vaccine sites (pharmacies, supermarkets, outdoor, drive-through), incentives for weekend and late hours appointments, ensuring no silly regulations on priority list means vaccines are wasted, removing red tape to
enhance staffing levels, using price incentives or commitments to overcome bottlenecks. Anything that can make marginal improvements on any of things brings the end of this closer, and so will likely be very cost-effective.
If PHE or other vaccinators won't work weekends, raise pay and train those who will! This is too important for a lethargic "oh, we are doing better than the EU disaster" comparison.
When you talk to people about this, they just reply "but isn't the problem supply?" Not according to the companies, no. They say they are meeting what was asked of them. And even if supply was slow, supply responds to incentives.
