Dad Diaries - Wednesday 7th April

Wednesday. Hump day. Even in a four day week it signifies that we are through the worst of it and we are closer to the weekend in front of us, than the one behind us. This time last week we were basking in a beautiful spring sunshine, t-shirts and shorts in all. This week, I wake up to a frost, with a little bit of snow falling last night! The joys of the British weather.

So, what's new today?

The Astra-Zeneca vaccine has been reviewed by the government to discuss how safe it is. 79 cases of blood clots in patients of the jab has caused this discussion to see if there is more to it. 79 cases, out of more than 20 million vaccines, have developed clots within days of receiving the vaccine. As a percentage, that works out as 0.000395% of cases that have developed clots. However small the percentage, and however 'Extremely rare and unlikely to occur' the clots may be, the government have decided that anybody between the age of 18-29 will now be offered an alternative vaccine if available. The younger age group are less likely to die from covid-19, so the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has decided to advise the younger age group are offered an alternate vaccine, if available.

Now, I get the fact that you have to be careful about these things. Side effects can be serious. However, when the chances are that low, and the event is that unlikely, I get the feeling that this whole story is a case of British media creating a story to create a story. Why can stories not be created around good news for once? Why can the headline not read, '19,999,921 People DO NOT Get Blood Clots From Astra-Zeneca Vaccinations'. I guess that doesn't create as much interest or cause a big of stir as the alternative.

I try to stay away from the news. I often find myself reading the news a lot, and almost as soon as I do, I remember why I don't. I find it all to be bad. Deaths, gangs, murders, missing people that end up one of the previous or all three. Certain things you have to keep up with, the pandemic and the rules surrounding it being the most recent example. But life can be hard enough on its own without having to read or hear about everything else that's bad in the world. That sounds a little bit selfish but its a part of looking after your mental health. If I start taking on too much of other peoples problems then I find it harder to deal with my own.

So on that basis, good news going forward! The weekend is touching distance, the weather is (supposedly) getting better, and this weekend is Wrestlemania weekend! I know it's not real... But realistically, what is the difference between enjoying an episode of Raw or Smackdown, to enjoying an episode of Corrie or EastEnders? I know my brothers-in-law would agree! So, a weekend of drinking and staying up late (with a day off on Monday). Plenty to be happy about!

Until then, I still have two days of work to get through, and anything can happen in two days.....