covid-19 Archives - b**p

Politics

Vaccines shouldn’t be required for students

Earlier this week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that the government would give “advance notice” if it was decided that having a complete Covid-19 vaccine would be mandatory for students to attend lectures or live in halls of residence. The UCU, who had previously written a letter asking the government to make students a priority […]
Editorials

Is Covid vocabulary changing our attitude?

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed a shift in the vocabulary used to describe the Covid-19 pandemic. On 24 July, Health Secretary Sajid Javid was met with swift criticism after he tweeted (and later deleted) that people should “learn to live with, rather than cower from, this virus.” News outlets have also begun […]
health

Women’s vaccine symptoms ignored

As more women get their vaccines, most notably in the 18-29 age bracket, the common side effects experienced differ to those identified by vaccine providers. A change in periods, breast pain, and even breast cancer symptoms have been some of the serious side effects that women are facing – but with no warning. The lack […]
Editorials

Why I’m Still Wearing a Mask

Last Monday, the long-awaited “freedom day” came to pass, and all Covid-19 restrictions on social contact were lifted in England. Many are cheering on the elimination of the requirement to wear masks indoors, with mask policies now being in the hands of venues and individuals rather than the government. But for many, including myself, “freedom […]
Editorials

Covid shows governments care most about profit

As we draw towards what we hope will be the end of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is important to reflect upon the relationship economy and profit has had with public health over the past fifteen months. Most importantly, what does it what tells us about that same relationship in normal times? Across the world, governments […]
News

Labour opposes vaccine passports

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has said that vaccine passports are essentially “a digital ID card” and that Labour cannot support them in their current form. Boris Johnson announced yesterday that vaccine passports – or ‘Covid status certificates’ – will be trialled this month at upcoming events, including the FA Cup final and a range […]
Editorials

‘If I were PM, I’d fire all men’ – does Amber Rudd have a point?

Former Conservative MP Amber Rudd has recently stated in an interview with ITV’s Acting Prime Minister Podcast that she would “fire all men” if she was Prime Minister, and instead put in place an all-female Cabinet. This recent comment is part of a plethora of comments Rudd has made regarding the blatant inequality of the […]
News

Dealing with Lockdown: Nicholas’s Story

Over the coming weeks here at Beep, we are running a number of stories about the impact of lockdown on our young people. Kicking off our series is new writer Nicholas. My name is Nicholas Cornwell, I am 21 years old and lockdown has had a drastic impact on the way I live my life. […]
News

Keir Starmer announces roadmap for Labour government

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer announced his roadmap to government today in a speech clearly delivered to re-brand the Party. Speaking on a Facebook live stream this morning, Sir Keir drew strong ties with the post-WW2 appetite for change in politics and the post-pandemic (whenever that may be) “mood in the air” for a different […]
Editorials

The Crucial Next Stage of COVID

Boris Johnson and his government have come under serious fire over the course of the pandemic because of their response (or sometimes lack of) to the severity of rising cases of COVID-19. Now that a new variant of the virus has been discovered, and its transmission rate is faster than the original variant, there is […]
Editorials

Use COVID to save the planet

David Attenborough‘s witness statement, A Life on Our Planet, is strong stuff. It always is from the 93-year-old TV veteran, but with his most recent documentary now available on Netflix, you can sense there’s an urgency to Attenborough’s message this time. He is serious – he’s almost desperate. For many years now, we have known […]
Editorials

What to Do in Lockdown… Again

With the news today that the North East is going to be put in lockdown again, we’ve come up with a little list of things to do to keep you occupied. While a lot of folks are still working throughout this bout of tighter COVID-19 restrictions, there’s a lot of elderly and young people who’ll […]
Editorials

Eat Out To Help Out – Now Don’t Go Out

It seems awfully strange, doesn’t it, that just last month we were vigorously encouraged to go out, spend money at restaurants and do, as The Sun (and thus the Tories) put it, our ‘civic duty’? Even stranger when, now, a matter of weeks later, I can’t go inside of my grandmother’s house because the North […]
Editorials

Coronavirus: Where lockdown went wrong

Coronavirus has been, undoubtedly, one of the most shocking and unexpected (unless you’re Bill Gates) things to happen to the world since World War Two. It has shut down normality in one swift, succinct wave – and with this, it has claimed the lives of many thousands. But did as many lives have to be […]