Covid-19: Boris Johnson thinks getting vaccinated is a "invaluable gift."
Boris Johnson said in his annual festive greeting that getting a Covid vaccine is a “great thing” parents can do for their families this Christmas.
Vaccination Campaign
The prime minister said in a video that getting the jab demonstrated “that we should love our neighbours as we love ourselves.”
He expressed gratitude to everyone who assisted with the immunization programme as well as healthcare workers who worked throughout the holidays.
In his own Christmas letter, Sir Keir Starmer commended NHS workers.
The Labour leader claimed in a YouTube video that important staff had displayed “Christian ideals of love” in “the darkest of times.”
Covid Jab Statistics
According to the most recent official numbers, 82 percent of persons in the UK aged 12 and up have had two doses of the Covid vaccine, with 55 percent receiving a booster.
In reaction to the rapid spread of the Omicron type, the government said earlier this month that it will speed up the booster campaign in England, with Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland following suit.
On Thursday, 119,789 UK Covid cases were registered, the largest number since the outbreak began.
“There is still a lovely thing you can give your family and the whole country, and that is to get that jab, whether it is your first or second, or your booster,” the prime leader said in his message.
“An inconspicuous and invaluable present,” he said of the Covid vaccination.
Boris Johnson’s Christmas Message
Mr Johnson stated in his message that the holiday season will be “much better” than the previous one, when indoor gatherings were severely restricted across the UK.
“And if the pile of crumpled wrapping paper is higher this year, it’s because we’ve been giving each other an invisible and invaluable present across the country in the run-up to Christmas,” he continued.
“We’ve been getting the immunisation that protects us and prevents us from spreading disease to others.”
“And I hope it’s okay if I take satisfaction in the enormous sense of neighbourliness that the people of this country have demonstrated.”
“We’re getting stabbed not just for ourselves, but for our friends, family, and everyone we meet.”
“After all, that is Jesus Christ’s teaching – that we should love our neighbours as we love ourselves – whose birth is at the core of this massive event.”
What is Covid Jab?
This use of “jab” was most likely influenced by the use of the word “shot” for a narcotic drug injection at the time.
“The gang of miserables who have acquired the horrible habit often have a hard time getting money enough to buy ‘a shot,’ as they term a morphine injection,” according to a January 1889 article in the Sacramento Bee. While “shot” became the standard term for any type of hypodermic injection, “jab” remained a more slangy alternative.
In World War II, British military began to use the term “jab” to refer to inoculations against diseases like tuberculosis, as lexicographer Jonathon Green explains in “Green’s Dictionary of Slang.”
Scottish Prime Minister
This year, Sir Keir Starmer remarked, communities had pulled together in the face of adversity.
He noted in his statement that this Christmas, like the previous one, had been “very painful for our country.”
“Communities have come together to help one another,” he said, thanking members of the military services, the NHS, and important professionals.
“There will be one less chair at the table for the Christmas supper for far too many,” Sir Keir continued.
“However, Christian principles of kindness, compassion, and hope have shown through even in the darkest of times.”
Although the prime leader rarely discusses religion, his words relating immunisation to Christian ideals reflect recent remarks by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Justin Welby, speaking to ITV earlier this week, agreed that for those who are eligible, being vaccinated is a moral problem.
“It’s not about me and my right to choose,” he explained, “it’s about how I love my neighbour.”
Pope Francis has also urged Catholics and others to be injected for the “common good.”
The 85-year-old pontiff, who himself vaccinated, has already stated that he does not know how to understand some cardinals’ vaccine apprehension.
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