At this dangerous juncture in the battle against the coronavirus, there was extremely positive news yesterday with the first people in Northern Ireland receiving the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
The rollout comes just four weeks after the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was first deployed, which was a hugely significant step forward and has resulted in thousands of care home staff and residents as well as other frontline health workers being inoculated.
The approval of the Oxford vaccine is widely regarded as a game changer as it is easily stored and has none of the logistical difficulties associated with the Pfizer product.
This will allow our GP practice network, which is well versed in organising and administering vaccination programmes, to ramp up the delivery of the jab to large numbers of people, particularly those most vulnerable to the ravages of Covid-19.
Up to 11,000 people will receive the jab this week and it is hoped that all those aged 80 and over in the north will be inoculated by the end of January, with the focus then shifting to other age groups.
What is vital is that we maintain the pace of rollout and protect as many people as possible, as quickly as possible and much will depend on the supply of the vaccine.
While the vaccination of the population is the means by which we can escape the coronavirus nightmare, this process will take months to complete.
In the meantime, we are facing a deteriorating situation with infection rates reaching alarming levels.
Yesterday there were 1,801 positive cases, bringing the total over the past seven days to 12,507.
It also emerged that the Armagh area is experiencing an infection rate of 1,700 per 100,000, an extraordinary figure which provides a sense of how rampant the virus is in our community.
We were warned that any relaxation of restrictions over the Christmas period would lead to a rise in cases and we are seeing that coming to pass, in numbers that are profoundly worrying.
While many people are being careful about observing the regulations, it is clear we are not seeing the sort of rigorous adherence that was apparent during the first lockdown.
Unfortunately, too many are continuing to flout the rules and are putting themselves, their friends and families at risk and placing our health service under intolerable strain.
At this critical point, everyone has a responsibility to comply with the public health guidance.
