Covid-19: Grim reality of a failure to prepare shatters euphoria of vaccine rollout

A disillusioned and frustrated public face a more dangerous Christmas than last year, with some blaming a misguided faith in vaccination as a silver bullet

Doctor and nurses attend to a patient in a Covid-19 intensive care unit: health authorities fear that rising Covid cases could push ICU units to capacity – and maybe beyond it. Picture: Getty

When Covid-19 vaccines were first approved this time last year, their rollout came with stark warnings about an adverse psychological effect: vaccine euphoria.

Experts warned of the danger that populations could become so excited at the prospect of their own personal protection that they would neglect all other safeguards, resulting in the disease surging once again.

“We get so blinded by vaccine euphoria, the light at the end of the tunnel, that we underestimate how ...