There is part of continental Europe which is winning the vaccine war. By Maundy Thursday, every Gibraltarian will have been offered a jab, as will all Spaniards who work on the Rock. Their absenteeism rates have fallen. In Madrid, meanwhile, the Governor of Spain’s central bank recently expressed caution. Optimistic growth estimates had to be scaled down. It would take the Spanish economy longer than he had hoped to recover to pre-Covid levels. So the Spaniards could do with a bit of absenteeism, from hope.
But Gibraltar is not unique. Every British overseas territory has now been given sufficient doses to vaccinate its entire population, with one exception: remote Pitcairn.
So why are the overseas territories so fortunate, and why is the UK catching up fast? There is a simple answer: Europe, or rather the absence of Europe. If we had still been members of the EU and taken part in its scheme, our vaccination programme would have been held back, just as theirs have been. There would have been more deaths, more pressure on hospitals and less prospect of a rapid economic recovery.
