Letters: Why there’s still reason to hope for an effective Covid-19 vaccine

SIR – I believe I am immune to smallpox, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and other diseases, as a result of vaccination.

I do not expect to have antibodies in my blood, as I have not been exposed to any of these infectious organisms recently. However, if I am, my long-lived memory T cells, which preserve data on my immunity, will stimulate my B cells to produce specific antibodies. These will gradually disappear from my blood as they overcome the invader, but I will still be immune.

In light of this, it seems to me that the falling levels of antibodies observed in the recent Covid-19 study reflect normal recovery from a viral illness – and do not necessarily mean that immunity has not been achieved. These results should be interpreted cautiously when considering the likely effectiveness of a vaccine.

Dr Diana Macfarlane FRCP
Tunbridge Wells, Kent

SIR – While the results of the study on which you report may raise doubts about the efficacy of a Covid-19 vaccine, many suspect that a T cell response would be a better marker of immunity. In any case, the study may have a more useful effect.

The Government’s Plan A (repeated lockdowns until a vaccine arrives) is facing growing criticism. Now there is a plausible reason to switch to a Plan B. This would involve shielding the now well-known vulnerable groups, and allowing everyone else to return to a more normal existence.

Coupled with rapid tests for the virus and local-authority input on tracing, it would allow us to address the appalling effects of current policy, which are arguably worse than those of the virus itself.

Professor R A Risdon
London SW13

SIR – It has been suggested that many will ignore the “rule of six” over Christmas. This assumes that travel will remain relatively unrestricted.

During the first lockdown, the very few cars on the road were immediately obvious to the authorities, and could easily be stopped. I will not be surprised if the Government delivers a nasty present before Christmas to ensure compliance with its strictures.

Keith Whittaker
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire

SIR – As a lifelong Tory, I hate to get involved in Government-bashing, but there is a problem with its approach.

On several recent visits to France, we didn’t see one person without a mask where mandated. Now we are in Dubai where, at the entrance to every shop, restaurant and office, somebody will scan your temperature and ensure that you are wearing a mask. Unless the rules are properly enforced, there is no point in having them.

Michael West
Poole, Dorset

SIR – I wonder if my “Freedom Pass” will ever live up to its name again.

Gael-Anne Morgan
Surbiton, Surrey

Ships under threat

SIR – Mark Almond is right in his assessment of the potential for shipjacking.

Years spent in the Special Boat Service (SBS) planning how to board ships, with the purpose of retaking them from terrorists, showed me how easy it is. The main challenge is getting on board. Securing the bridge and engine room is then relatively simple. Typical crews will not put up a fight if there is a threat to life. Learning how to navigate a large ship is easier than learning how to fly a commercial aircraft into a building.

Several years ago, a British security company, managed by former members of our special forces, won a contract to teach the Somali coastguard how to board and capture boats fishing illegally in Somali waters. The Somalis, mostly simple fishermen, adapted that knowledge to create history’s greatest piracy empire.

Many years ago, I wrote a novel, The Hijack, describing how a supertanker was captured by terrorists with the aim of ramming it into a port on the south coast of England. The SBS saved the day on that occasion in much the same way as they saved it last Sunday.

As a maritime security specialist I can tell you that very little has been done to prevent vessels like supertankers and LNG carriers from being turned into weapons of mass destruction. Few, if any, these days have adequate security or anti-hijack technology such as remote engine controls.

Incidents like the one last Sunday will not have gone unnoticed by those who would wish us harm.

Duncan Falconer
Diss, Norfolk

Tackling trafficking

SIR – You report (October 28) that traffickers are paid up to £3,500 per place on a boat when migrants are put to sea. A record 7,500 migrants have reached British shores this year. This amounts to a revenue of more than £26 million for the traffickers.

This is crime on a colossal scale, being tackled in a devastatingly amateur manner.

Ann Charles
Wedhampton, Wiltshire

SIR – Priti Patel’s criticism of “Lefty” immigration lawyers (report, October 28) is entirely misconceived.

It is the legislation that needs beefing up to close the loopholes used by lawyers – whose remit is to serve their clients’ best interests, not those of the Home Secretary.

Sandy Pratt
Storrington, West Sussex

We can still remember

SIR – Richard Woodmore (Letters, October 28) wonders whether a British Legion poppy is an essential or non‑essential item.

You do not buy poppies. You donate generously.

Fiona Davies
Tenterden, Kent

Out of the game

SIR – The first I heard of the pandemic was in March when one of my bridge four breezed in and announced that this would be our last game. He had just heard on the news that the Government was shutting down the country and we were not allowed to gather any more.

Little did any of us think that by Bonfire Night we would all still be quarantined. Let us hope that by the time the quarantine is lifted we haven’t forgotten how to play.

Gill Maden
Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex

Better hospital food

SIR – Prue Leith’s 10 recommendations for hospital food were all standard practice when I was nursing in the Seventies.

Patients could have sherry before their meal to stimulate their appetites; the ward doors were closed to ensure peace and quiet; meals were taken communally on a long table in the middle of the big Nightingale ward (with flowers); and the Sister herself, with her encyclopedic knowledge of her patients’ dietary needs, measured out hot food on to china plates from a trolley, which offered several options. Every ward had its own dietician.

As for “healthy snacks”, we student nurses were trained to rustle up scrambled eggs and porridge in the ward kitchen (yes, they existed then), and to provide tea and toast whenever a patient asked. Fruit was delivered daily, and freshly made soup served as part of a three-course meal – never solus. Outsourced sandwiches were unheard of.

Anthea Bain
Ely, Cambridgeshire

Turkey and France

SIR – During his time in power, the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has gradually broken down his country’s secular model, purging opponents and giving religion a far greater say in the running of the state.

Now, instead of condemning the murder of the teacher Samuel Paty in France, he is using religious rhetoric in the international arena and calling for a boycott of French goods. Turkey has long been a key ally of the UK, but it is now at risk of becoming a rogue state.

Roger Gentry
Sutton-at-Hone, Kent

SIR – Full marks to President Macron for standing up to President Erdogan, his insults and his policies.

All members of Nato should be ashamed of themselves for not actively supporting him, and they should withdraw their ambassadors in protest.

David J Dodd
Gramont, Tarn-et-Garonne, France

Sloe solution

SIR – There is a use for sloes (Letters, October 27) that have already been used in gin.

Cut into small fragments and melted into dark chocolate, they produce something delicious. Best eaten before the gin has evaporated.

Richard Hayward
Litlington, East Sussex

Small theatres keeping the show on the road

SIR – It was very reassuring to read Dominic Cavendish’s article on the unexpected resurgence of pantomime this winter, despite Covid restrictions.

I should also like to fly the flag for small local theatres that are struggling on without government funding. The Garrick in Lichfield, Staffordshire, is one such. After informing us of the necessary cancellation of Peter Pan, it immediately invited us to a bite-sized, socially distanced Jack and the Beanstalk – weeks before any of the larger theatres unveiled similar ideas. Meanwhile, to maintain customer interest, the theatre is also broadcasting films of recent National Theatre productions, giving those of us in the provinces a chance to see some marvellous drama.

Patricia Gambles
Sutton Coldfield

National Trust needs to get its priorities right

SIR – There is a large rural estate, with dependent mansion and village, close to where I live. Not long ago, a number of the farm tenants were told that the National Trust (Letters, October 28) was going to “rewild” parts of its holdings. Presumably, rent was not to be charged on these areas. A number of houses on the 10,000-acre estate are empty while the Trust has been installing bicycle tracks and other inappropriate “visitor attractions”.

I warned the local office that it forgot its core purpose and resident tenants at its peril, should anything happen to reduce gate money. Given the Trust’s current financial difficulties, one hopes that resident tenants and core supporters will again be treated with the respect they used to be accorded.

Tim Stafford
Morpeth, Northumberland

SIR – Two years ago, you kindly published a letter of mine suggesting that the National Trust was losing its focus on its “day job” of looking after our heritage in favour of bending us towards its bien pensant world view.

I suggest that history will judge the National Trust in its current form as totally arrogant, as it takes money from members and visitors while lecturing us on the error of our ways.

Don Webber
Bembridge, Isle of Wight

SIR – Any forthcoming inquiry into the role of the National Trust might like to consider the fate of a bust of Rudyard Kipling that once adorned the art studio at Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s home in Kent. The bust was presented to Churchill in 1935 by the Royal Society of St George, but has now been removed.

Urgent action needs to be taken to restore the Trust to a position of trust.

Stuart Millson
East Malling, Kent

SIR – Shouldn’t the National Trust change its name?

Simon McIlroy
Croydon, Surrey

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