Stay updated with breaking news from Kate Oconnell. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Is this the first year we’ve really paid attention to the words of the Christmas songs we sing each year and noticed the one thing they all take for granted is togetherness?
It’s widely known Nphet is run by a bunch of men in suits, so I was surprised this week to discover it’s not true. In fact, the National Public Health Emergency Team has a gender balance so equal it could be run by Justin Trudeau. Nphet is repeatedly held up as a boys’ club – evidenced by the fact we only see the “male face” of Tony and Ronan and Paul on the telly. They’re the ones running the country, they’re all male, and so it’s proof we live in a patriarchy. It seemed an aberration, considering there are as many women as men now in medicine.
I was relieved when I heard my demographic is second-to-last in the Government's priority list for the Covid-19 vaccine. Those in their 40s, with no risk factors, will be near the bottom of the queue; with children the final group vaccinated, "if evidence demonstrates safety and efficacy". It's a new vaccine for a new virus and it's reassuring to let others go first and see how they get on. Could I be guaranteed to come through Covid safely, and achieve immunity naturally, I'd prefer to get the virus than the vaccine. If I was surveyed for a behavioural poll, I'd be one of those in the "...