Re: Hindsight
Locking down the borders was not physically possible in a country that relies on imports for food and other essentials. Eventually, it would have come into the country, and then it is down to the in country procedures
As I said before, Australia and New Zealand had the advantage of being net exporters, And I don't know how their exports fared when the border lockdown was in effect. I guess we'll see as time goes by.
But keeping the virus out of the country only works if you either eliminate the virus in the rest of the world, or are able to vaccinate your country completely while the border is closed. Anything else just delays it, and you will face outbreaks in the future.
Vietnam is currently in a new wave, so I would not hold them up just yet.
The UK government's communication has been very varied, with some of it very good and candid, and some absolutely shocking examples over the last year. And there has been changes in policy as time has progressed. But I don't think that a single policy could have been laid out at the beginning of the pandemic that would have stood as the situation evolved.
But putting their trust and money into backing several vaccines, just to make sure that some of them actually were effective was probably the best policy that they followed, and one that will benefit the rest of the world.
I wonder how much FUD about the Astra Zenica vaccine was actually being spread by those companies that had followed traditional development regimes and were expecting profits, when it became clear that the patents for the AZ vaccine were going to be licensed at no cost around the world, because the development was funded by the UK government.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
