And the winner is....

Whatever name 'it' chooses to go by, 'it' has won.  I don't want to be negative but it seems to me that it might be time to be honest, say goodbye to and hug your elderly or sick loved ones and just get on with it.  Treating a virus like an enemy you can beat with firepower has always been problematic because human bodies are complex and unpredictable.  When you add in human behaviour, weak  and confused governance, and an app that is buggier than the hotel we built for them in the garden, then there is no hope.

I say this because two confusing things happened today.  The first is that the antibody test result I took, bruising the ends of two fingers because my blood really likes to stay in my body, came back and the second is what a friend was told after she tested positive on both lateral flow and PCR.

My antibody test told me that I have antibodies from both a previous infection and the vaccine. It says that it is unlikely that these antibodies are from the current infection.  So, I am able to get infected with this virus, despite having active antibodies?  Ah, you say, but you don't have serious illness. And it's true, I don't but I do have a heavy cold that still hasn't gone away after seven days and has caused a complete loss of smell.  Although I am over fifty, I am also very fit and healthy and this level of illness is rare for me.

When I thought about this result, I decided that it was even more important to self-isolate, wear masks, wash our hands and get on the next slide.

Then a friend tested positive, after her partner was already sick (for the second time in a few months).  She dutifully put her result into the app and prepared to cancel Christmas only to be told that she didn't need to self isolate.

Now, I know I don't understand much but we've given up, haven't we? Wave the white flag, declare the winner.  

The only problem with this approach is there has been no funding or help for the NHS and no one in hospital has been told to give up on 'it'. In fact they are still prioritsing 'it' because if they don’t the whole system falls over.