This is not where any of us expected to be last year, nor is it where we would wish to be heading into 2021. The continuing story of the power of human innovation in creating vaccines gives us hope that 2021 will be a better year for all across Scotland and around the World. It is up to us all to ensure that we continue to engage with the regulations, and campaign for fair and equal access to the vaccines across the globe.
I’d like to send my heartfelt thanks to all health and care workers in East Lothian, as well as the key workers across the county in sanitisation, education, retail and many more. You have given your all this year, and I am deeply grateful, as are all of us for the power of work that has been done and continues to be done in the face of this virus.
Despite the news stories of failures of political leadership across the globe, I remain hopeful in recognition that this year communities came together in a way many have never seen before. Our support for our friends and neighbours is key to weathering the remainder of the pandemic, and evidence that when facing a crisis our greatest asset is our common care and concern for one another. I know that 2021, despite its evident challenges, will prove to be a better year for us all.
Happy New Year when it comes, and raise a glass to a better future.