Anthony Bernard, highlighting the needy, writes for the Journal.

Exmouth Journal: Exmouth Community Food Larder manager Anthony Bernard.Exmouth Community Food Larder manager Anthony Bernard. (Image: Archant)

The pandemic is a worldwide problem. While our media is dominated by UK news the whole world is in trouble - though much of the world had more than enough troubles before the virus.

Vaccines are the way out of this, and everyone needs them. Any virus mutates where it can gain a hold - this is what they do - and nowhere more dramatically and disastrously than India at the moment.

So, any corner of the world in which the virus can gather momentum will be a danger to all of us, able to spawn and spread new varieties of trouble for which our expertise will be tested to produce a new answer - and everyone will have to be jabbed all over again.

There is also a problem with supplies of vaccines. Proposals for a temporary waiver on intellectual property rights, to allow countries to produce their own vaccines, were blocked but are now in the process of being lifted.

We surely all need vaccines to be widely available - whether to support less affluent peoples or simply to lessen the chance of the virus being successful elsewhere and coming back to haunt us and lock us all down again.

Possible rare side effects have slowed uptake of some vaccines. How many people who were vaccinated have been killed in car accidents…many more than had blood clots?

Rich countries have also pushed poorer countries into hardship with loans, so that the worst off are paying more in loan interest to big banks than they can afford for their own regular health care.

Some borrowing has roots in badly managed economies and corruption - however we must face the reality of where we actually are rather than blame the past.

Leaders of the rich nations will soon gather for the G7 summit in Carbis Bay.

We all, including the Cornish, need rich nations to support the whole world to get the vaccine, suppress this nasty virus and establish basic healthcare structures.

So Cornwall becomes the focus of world attention - after which Cornwall can move forward to an enhanced future mining Lithium for the clean battery driven electric revolution worldwide.

Cornwall has had strategic importance since the Romans discovered that tin would alloy with copper to make bronze for better swords and shields. The pasty was a minor achievement.

Much as we are in trouble but have recovery visible, there are many others very much worse off.

Many peoples are simply striving to survive, while we argue about our own problems against our affluent backdrop of food in plenty and widespread vaccination.

In 'highlighting the needy', our focus should include what is needed to help others around the world.

Racism is not just an issue of colour or background; it is failing to accept that we are all in this world together, 'one creator, one planet, one family'.

The virus is teaching that to all of us, because any area in which the bug prospers will become the next source of a problem.

'One creator, one planet, one family' was on the 'T'-shirts of food bank helpers on TV some time back; they were a Moslem group in Brooklyn, New York.

We really are all in this together; all major faiths have similar outlooks to support neighbours.

We know the Bible story of "the Good Samaritan" (Luke 10, vv30-37) ..he wasn't Jewish, he can't have been Christian and he wasn't baptized...but the message is very clear and remains universal.