It is starting to feel like the Covid nightmare is almost over | Matt Mohan-Hickson

You don’t need me to describe or relitigate the events of the pandemic, it is not like any of us will forget them anytime soon.

But while the path we’ve all been walking since March 2020 has been a dark, winding one, it feels like we are emerging from the darkness and stepping back into the light.

Sure, it felt that way a bit in August and September, when cases were low and restrictions were eased.

And then things then took a turn for the much, much worse during the winter.

However, this time it feels different. Summer is drawing closer, the days are longer and most importantly we have the vaccines. More than 35m people in the UK have had at least one dose and the rest of us are waiting to be jabbed.

Last week there was a day with zero Covid deaths reported in England – for the first time since March last year.

We can hug our family and friends again, we can visit people and stay over. Even summer holidays abroad are well and truly on the cards.

The shops have reopened and we can sit inside pubs/restaurants again.

I am most excited to make a trip up north again in the coming weeks, to see the friends I haven’t laid my eyes on in the flesh since 2019. Although the reopening of cinemas is also extremely high up on my list of things to do post May 17.

And now we are just a few weeks away – touch wood – from the final easing when the last restrictions will be lifted.

There is an all English Champions League final, the Euros are just a few weeks away and hopefully if it captures even a quarter of the good vibes of the summer of 2018 then we are all in for a much needed treat.

Imagine if after everything we have been through the last 14 months, football finally comes home. To quote Liam Gallagher, it would be: ‘Biblical’.

It feels like as a society we can let out a much needed sigh of relief, like we’ve been collectively holding our breath for so long and can now just release it.The nightmare is almost over.I just want my vaccine

I must admit I am getting rather restless now.

It is the middle of May, we are almost half way through the year and there is still no sign of getting the jab.The eligibility has moved to people in their 30s at least – but it still feels like my turn is agonisingly far away.

I am not a great fan of needles but I just want it to be my turn.

At least it is a positive sign that demand for vaccines continues to remain high here in the UK.

But I just want to feel safe – in a way that I haven’t done for much of the last 14 months.

I want that AstraZeneca or Pfizer or Moderna pumping through my veins, giving me those sweet, sweet antibodies.

It feels so close, like I can almost touch it.

I guess I will just have to keep waiting a few more weeks until it is finally my turn.The UK’s vaccine demand should be commended

In the state of Ohio they have started a weekly lottery with a prize of $1m up for grabs every Wednesday.

The catch? It is only open to people who have been vaccinated.

New Jersey is offering a free beer to anyone over the age of 21 who gets the jab in May.

While in Maine you can get a free fishing or hunting licence if you get vaccinated.

There are many similar schemes across the rest of the United States, to encourage/cajole the hesitant into getting jabbed.

Sitting in the UK where there has been barely any noticeable push-back to the vaccination drive – aside from maybe Laurence Fox during his London mayor campaign – it seems strange that people need incentives to get the jab.

It makes me proud to be from a country that is so willing to protect each other by getting vaccinated without making a fuss about it.