Vaccine news must be catalyst to learn need for better health, says Sheffield business leader

Sheffield is blessed with many facilities and resources to help us become fitter and healthier, says Graham Moore, such as this gym at Ponds Forge international sports centre in the city centre

We were all preparing for a restricted Christmas and continuation of restrictions that, for many, have become a way of life, so it is welcome news that we can hopefully contemplate what many of us thought beyond us – a normal way of life.

What joy it would be to hug our grandchildren, for me also to see our beloved family dog Molly again and a return to the freedoms we took for granted before the Pandemic.

However, before we get ahead of ourselves, we have to be reminded that the new vaccine has to go through the normal approval processes applicable to any new drug.

However, after months of restrictions, we could be forgiven for letting our imagination run ahead.

This news will be a huge boost to our morale much damaged by the pandemic and its severe effect on our way of life.

The damage will take time to recover from, with too many lives and jobs lost and education blighted.

We must use this uplifting news as a catalyst to learn the lessons of improving our health and wellbeing and addressing some long-standing inequalities in our society.

Health and the economy are so interdependent, which must encourage us to take a hard look at ourselves.

Mental health issues must now be addressed, a long-standing challenge aggravated during the coronavirus.

We should be under no illusions that any recovery will take time to rebuild businesses, restore education and instil confidence to use the learning accrued during the pandemic, to restore our economy.

There will be no respite for the NHS, as it will be integral to distributing vaccines, dealing with the long-term effects of coronavirus, impacting the huge waiting lists for non-Covid interventions, and recovering individually from the traumas they have had to face.

The best tribute we can pay to these heroes is to get ourselves fitter and healthier by taking personal initiatives to follow the comprehensive advice available.

This pandemic should have reminded us that if we don’t take responsibility to take better care of ourselves, we place ourselves not only in greater danger, but add to the burdens of our overstretched NHS.

Fortunately we live in a city where there are many facilities and resources to help us make that journey .

The freedom the vaccine will bring is an opportunity to take better care of ourselves and those around us.

Things will never be the same and the sacrifices made by our fellow citizens should be all the motivation we need to create a more caring city learning lessons of the pandemic. What a legacy that would be.