The inevitable onset of another winter full of NHS pressures is presaged by this story of the challenges facing vulnerable people in rural settings which tells us:
Time is running out for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people who are facing another winter shielding from Covid, campaigners have said.
They are calling on the government to buy a drug called Evusheld to provide some protection against the virus.
The government says it is not clear how long that protection will last when up against the Omicron variant.
But patients, charities and health experts argue the protection offered is better than nothing.
That means their bodies struggle to produce antibodies, so the existing vaccines offer them little or no protection, leaving them very vulnerable to Covid.
Blanche Hampton has lupus, a condition where her immune system has turned against her.
The drugs she takes to control the lupus also suppress her immune system, meaning her body has no defences against Covid.
Blanche has been shielding for two and a half years, but she believes Evusheld offers a chance for at least some kind of existence outside of her small flat in Inverkip, west of Glasgow.