I've just had my second vaccination against Covid-19. What an incredible relief! I was able to get my first vaccination at the end of February; now, 12 weeks, later I've had the booster. Even better, most of my generation of family and friends have had at least their first jab. My daughter has now been offered her first jab through her University. All good so far!

This time last year, we were in the tail of the first Covid-19 wave and I was reading about the potential for various vaccines, of which a recombinant chimpanzee adenovirus carrying the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, was just one of several. At the time, I thought it was more likely to fail than not, and that it would be several years at best before it became available for use. I did not dare dream that in May 2021, I would be able to have my second (booster) jab of this vaccine now known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, or the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine. I just have to wait 2-3 weeks to get my full level of protection.

So far this year, I've not ventured far for photography. I've stuck mainly to places, such as Oare Marshes, a short distance from home (that reminds me - I must put some pictures from Oare on this blog), that are outdoors, with few people around and well ventilated.

I certainly haven't felt like going anywhere crowded, especially London, for street photography since February of last year. Come June, I'm so looking forward to getting back to it.

Having said that, there is now a lot of concern about the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617.2, known as an "Indian" variant. It seems to have a significant transmissibility advantage over B.1.1.7, the "Kent" variant that caused the huge post-Christmas wave here. Recent data both from sequencing community samples and from PCR testing indicates that B.1.617.2 will displace B.1.1.7 within the month. Fortunately, the vaccines seem to be protective so far. We'll have to see. My rapture at the idea of getting up to London soon might be modified...