The battle against Covid hinges on two things – the vaccine and the public’s willingness to stick to the rules.
So far, Scots have put up with every rule and restriction for nearly a year.
It has been a long and heartbreaking experience for everyone.
The vaccine is the shining light at the end of this gruelling road.
And that’s why it is so difficult to watch the pace of delivery slip back while other parts of the UK move quickly.
Nicola Sturgeon fronted another briefing yesterday with some tough questions to answer on the details of this programme.
Why was there such a drop-off on Sunday?
Why is it that England is charging ahead with numbers while Scotland appears sluggish by comparison?
What happened to that goal of seeing a million jags before the start of February?
The race to get as many Scots vaccinated as possible in the shortest period of time is the Scottish Government’s most important job right now.
The public will be rightly angry that as a nation we are falling so far short of what could be achieved.
It is simply unacceptable, when there are dozens of people dying every day, that targets are being missed to such an alarming extent.
The virus does not have days off. It does not become less dangerous on a weekend.
There must be a refocusing on the task at hand and a flat-out determination to exceed targets, never mind reach them.
