Boris Johnson could come out of the pandemic smelling of roses

Things have been going relatively well for Boris Johnson of late.

After a miserable year of canceling Britons' vacations, shutting schools and leading the nation that was at one point the worst-hit of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Prime Minister has been riding the wave of a vaccine rollout that has surpassed all expectations.
This, in turn, has allowed Johnson to keep his path out of lockdown -- which he has confidently described as "irreversible" -- remaining on track.

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From Monday, pub gardens, indoor gyms, hair salons, zoos and many other forgotten pleasures reopen across England. It is a moment to be savored.
But it comes at the end of what's been an unusually difficult week for Johnson's government and its celebrated vaccine program. The rollout has been, without question, the biggest success enjoyed by Johnson's government during the crisis. The fact it compares so favorably to post-Brexit Britain's European neighbors -- many of which are re-imposing restrictions as the UK eases them -- is an added bonus.However, on Wednesday, a rather large wrench was thrown in the works. Johnson had to sit tight as the UK's medicines regulator confirmed a possible link between the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine -- which underpins the country's inoculation program -- and rare but serious blood clots. The UK's vaccines advisory panel recommended people under 30 be offered a different shot.
For clarity, the regulator -- and its European counterpart -- said that the vaccine's benefits vastly outweigh the risks. The European Medicines Agency said it too had found a likely link but pointed out that from a database of around 25 million people, its analysis noted 18 deaths in 62 cases of clotting in the sinuses that drain blood from the brain and 24 cases of clotting in the abdomen. It did not recommend any age restrictions be placed on the vaccine.
The British government's PR machine moved quickly and vigorously to reinforce the regulators' overall message that the AstraZeneca vaccine remained safe and highly effective. It also announced policies that present a positive picture overall that might encourage people to carry on getting inoculated, for example, laying out how it would be possible for Brits to book foreign summer holidays, if the roadmap stays on track.Some in government are concerned that the furor over AstraZeneca might lead to a jump in vaccine hesitancy -- specifically in people taking up second doses. This, they fear, could have a snowball effect, leading to a spike in cases, a rise in hospitalizations, and the plan to bring the country out of lockdown being thrown off course. Any such setback would leave Johnson open to criticisms of breaking promises -- one of the big weaknesses of his earlier response to the pandemic.
You'd expect that wary government officials, having had their optimism crushed by the virus' unpredictable course so many times before, are terrified of it derailing their plans once again.
Yet despite this week's vaccine curveball, it appears that no-one walking the corridors of power is panicking. In fact, they are remarkably relaxed and think Johnson and co have learned from their previous mistakes.
"We no longer overpromise and underdeliver," one government minister told CNN, making reference to Johnson's claims in March 2020 that the UK could "turn the tide in 12 weeks" or, having floated the idea of Brits being able to spend Christmas with their family, then reversing course on December 19.
While it might be tempting to attribute this sense of calm to the bravado and overconfidence that has been typical of Johnson's government, the more likely explanation is that the politics of the pandemic are suddenly far more favorable -- something officials are privately quick to tell anyone who will listen.
The vaccine success has improved the public perception of Johnson's handling of the pandemic. This is partly down to the imminent return of long-suppressed freedoms, but polls suggest that the British public is in the mood to go along with pretty much anything the government demands, provided it ends the misery."Throughout the pandemic, a significant majority have supported extremely strict measures. In each of the lockdowns they said it came too late and blamed Johnson for that," says Ben Page, chief executive of polling company Ipsos MORI. However, Page notes this conversely now provides the Prime Minister with "wiggle room to shut things down again if there is a problem with the vaccine rollout."
Downing Street, the government minister explained, has baked this into its timetable to end lockdown. "We know that the public is more cautious than most politicians, so building flexibility into the plan and placing emphasis on caution is not just sensible in terms of public health, it's sensible politics," the minister said.
Even better for Johnson, public attitudes to vaccinations appear undimmed. Brits are "very pro-vaccine" with only 5% saying they wouldn't take it, Page says.And while the public had on the whole not agreed with Johnson's previous handling of the pandemic, support for the flagship policy for ending lockdown could change things.
"There is a lot of evidence to suggest that during difficult periods, people tend to remember the end rather than the start," says Rob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester.
Even with this week's potential setback on vaccines, there are very few political obstacles for the