Green is For Go?

Specialists have now reiterated that a global roll-out of vaccines does not 'guarantee victory over Covid-19' (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/06/global-rollout-of-vaccines-is-no-longer-a-guarantee-of-victory-over-covid-19). The arising of 'variants of concern' (such as B.1.351, B.1.1.7 and P.1 all identified between December 2020 and January 2021) are the 'game changers'. The authors point out that we can only be 'safe', if community transmission is maximally suppressed and vaccines rolled out everywhere. High transmission levels, anywhere in the world, mean that more 'variants of concern' will inevitably arise. Some of the current crop of variants are more transmissible and reduce the protections offered by vaccination. The specialists also note that many countries, do not have the genomics expertise, to see if new variants are arising. We would only know about a variant after it arrived. The proposed 'traffic light' system for foreign travel rules out any possibility of maximal suppression. Airline company executives have argued that, even requiring people travelling from 'safe' (green) countries, to get a Covid-19 test on their return from a trip, is 'unfair' (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9440179/Aviation-chiefs-blast-unfair-travel-traffic-light-plans.html). Their idea of 'safe' is at variance with mine. One might argue that anyone choosing to risk importing a 'variant of concern', is duty bound to do anything to reduce that risk. Unfortunately, it appears that the UK PM is siding with the airline executives.