Take a jab

+I had another Covid booster jab the other day,and given that the leaflet handed out to patients said that a number of side effects may occur (’very common’, which is to say 1 in 10) I can imagine many people having second thoughts. The side effects include swelling, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle ache, pain, tiredness, chills and fever. It is suggested in the leaflet (which it is recommended you read before the injection) that if any of these things show up you should get urgent medical attention. The leaflet is A3 size, printed both sides in small type. I’m happy to say that so far I am in the 9 in 10 category, so touch wood all will be well. But there is an assumption in the leaflet that if you get any side effects a bit worse than the above you should see your doctor. I think that by the time you can get an appointment, the side effects will have disappeared. I am very happy we have an NHS, but the advice in this leaflet (produced by the vaccine’s manufacturer) suggests that it has been written by somebody who has worked for the customer service department of an energy company whose favourite form of customer interaction is exemplified by the patronising and utterly misleading ‘Let’s chat’ box that pops up on your screen. You just know there’s nobody there. How exactly do you ‘chat’ with a bot? Well, at least I got my booster . . . and I’m good to go.
 
+Liz Thick’s knowledge of her own party’s history seems slight. In her conference speech today she will say that there will be more ‘disruption’ to come and that will be the price of success. This is just another way of saying there’ll ‘be no gain without pain,’ the Tories' winning slogan in 1997. Now I’m just waiting for some old Tory soak to tell Thick ‘I knew Margaret Thatcher, and you’re no Margaret Thatcher.’ The danger here of course is that she may be tempted to outperform her hero—never mind disruption, we could be in for a spell of destruction. But we’ll all feel cleansed.