COVID Cases Surge, New Variants Spread, and Vaccines Remain Scarce for Many
The rise in COVID cases and the spread of new variants are giving us a haunting sense of déjà vu. However, this time around, there is no hope of vaccines for the majority of the population. This is particularly concerning for long COVID patients, who have never had the opportunity to receive early access to vaccines or additional boosters. Shockingly, a study has revealed that 60% of recovered long COVID patients will experience a recurrence of symptoms if they are reinfected. Another study even suggested that the impact long COVID has on quality of life can be worse than stage 4 lung cancer.
Unfortunately, the guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation only focuses on the acute phase of COVID, neglecting the chronic conditions it can cause. It is crucial that we take these debilitating after-effects of the disease seriously, especially now that mortality rates have decreased. Even from an economic standpoint, the decision to disregard these long-term effects fails to consider the number of individuals who will be unable to work for months or even years while they recover.
Living with COVID has been a vastly different experience for each of us. Personally, it has been 1,284 days since my initial infection, and I am only now beginning to feel somewhat close to how I was before March 2020. I am doing everything in my power to avoid reinfection, but it is only a matter of time before it happens. The thought of going through the entire process again, with all the physical and psychological devastation it entails, is absolutely terrifying. Every social interaction or trip to the office is filled with anxiety.
If only long COVID patients could minimize their risks through vaccines and medication, it would make everything a little bit easier to bear.
Struggles for Aspiring Writers
This has been a disheartening week for aspiring authors, as news broke about the closure of the esteemed literary magazine The White Review and cuts to PhD funding by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). These developments further hinder young people’s access to the world of writing, unless they happen to have personal wealth and connections.
The White Review’s annual short story prize was a platform that launched the careers of talented authors like Claire-Louise Bennett, Vanessa Onwuemezi, and Sophie Mackintosh. However, on Tuesday, the magazine announced its decision to cease publication after multiple funding applications to Arts Council England were rejected. In addition, the AHRC will be reducing its yearly grants for doctoral research by 25%.
Daisy Lafarge, an award-winning novelist and poet, expressed her thoughts on the matter: “As someone from a first-generation background, I could never have pursued a PhD without funding, scholarships, and the like. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to write and publish books either.”
These cuts and closures are part of the ongoing attack on the humanities by the Conservative government. As evidenced by the recent £6.6 million budget cut to Creative Scotland, the government views writing as little more than a hobby. Not only does it fail to produce quantifiable value, but it also fosters independent thinking and critical analysis – qualities that they deem undesirable in an increasingly authoritarian society.
Unusual Dispute in Trowbridge
If only all local authority disputes were as strange as the one unfolding in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Michael Thomas, a developer embroiled in a three-year planning dispute, took revenge in an unconventional way. He had a sculpture erected on one of his buildings, resembling a gargoylish figure. This figure depicts Stewart Palmen, the town council leader known for his distinctive half-moon glasses and beard, sticking his tongue out in a provocative gesture. Surprisingly, Palmen has actually expressed his fondness for the statue, saying, “I quite like it. It would be a nice addition to the garden.”
We can only hope that this dispute will be resolved soon and that future planning permission issues across the country can be settled through equally unconventional means, such as stonemasonry showdowns.
Kathryn Bromwich is a writer and commissioning editor for the Observer New Review.
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