“W E SHOULD ALL allow ourselves a smile,” said Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, on December 8th. On that day Britain’s programme of mass vaccination against covid-19 began, with a needle into the arm of 90-year-old Margaret Keenan in Coventry. In January the pace of vaccination increased, putting Britain far ahead of continental European countries. Far from smiling, though, Britons are glummer than they have been for months (see chart). Listen to this story Enjoy more audio and podcasts oniOSorAndroid. Covid-19 flattened the national mood when it began to spread last spring...