Irish Examiner Review: Be responsible and keep us all safe

The European Medicines Agency yesterday licensed the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged 18 or over.

As was expected, European regulators have authorised AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults across the European Union.

The European Medicines Agency yesterday licensed the vaccine for people aged 18 or over. Though concerns were aired about the vaccine's effectiveness when used by older people, this endorsement will, in one way or another, speed up the delivery of essential defences. This is the third vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency, after drugs made by Pfizer and Moderna were sanctioned previously.

That is the positive side of yesterday's Covid-19 bulletin. That Gardaí have, already this month, issued more than 2,400 fines for non-essential travel is the negative side of that equation. Gardaí can also issue fines of €500 to people who organise a house party while their guests can face a fine of €150.

Whether these modest fines can dissuade the reckless cohort happy to ignore guidelines remains to be seen but it is reasonable to argue that at this point responsible behaviour is as important as a new vaccine.