We will remain at the mercy of Covid until the whole world is vaccinated.

That's the New Year Message from the Bishop of Dover who has called on Western governments to help make sure all people on the planet have their jabs.

The Rt Revd Dr Rose Hudson-Wilkin also said that the current asylum seeker crisis needed to be dealt with by compassion, not by "sticking plasters and soundbites" to score political points.

She said: "One of the lessons we have to learn from Covid-19 is that we will remain vulnerable to this virus until the whole world is vaccinated.

"Even as we try to encourage the home crowd to take their booster we are still forgetting the rest of the world.

"It is important that we ask our government to renew its efforts and lobby others in the West to start intentionally rolling out the vaccine to the rest of the world and not to hoard it here."

Bisphop Rose said that for many 2021 was an extension of 2020 when the pandemic first gripped the country.

Lockdowns continued, including with children taught at home, as did infections and deaths from the virus.

NHS staff worked constantly to care for those struck down, people continued wearing face masks plus got vaccinated and encouraged others to do the same.

Bishop Rose said: "We saw heroic efforts by many in the community as they reached out to the vulnerable and many who were shielding, making sure they had food and their medication."

The rate of day-on day infections hit another record in the UK. There were 189,213 new cases in the 24 hours up to December 30, the highest ever figure in a day since the pandemic began.

This compares with 70,725 in the 24 hours up to December 30, 2020. The far higher rate is blamed on the faster-spreading Omicron variant.

However there were 332 deaths in the 24 hours up to December 30 compared with 721 in the same period in 2020.

This is credited to tens of millions being vaccinated over the last year and because Omicron is less dangerous.

Bishop Rose added: "2022 must also be the year when we constructively engage with our politicians (local and national) about addressing the migrant crisis - not with sticking plasters and soundbites to score political points, but with compassion, addressing the real issues of poverty, war and climate change."

The problem of asylum seekers trying to reach Britain has continued for decades with the trend over the last few years of sailing over by small boats.

The total number of people who have made the dangerous journey across the English Channel in small boats in 2021 is more than 27,000.

This is well over three times the total for the whole of 2020.

The worst tragedy from this method was the drowning of 27 people, on November 24, when their dinghy capsized off Calais.

On December 8 the Government's Nationality and Borders Bill was passed in the House of Commons.

It will seek to stop illegal arrivals gaining immediate entry into the asylum system if they have travelled through a safe county, and will increase the maximum sentence for illegally entering the UK.

Pro-asylum seeker groups have criticised the Bill.

For example Bridget Chapman, of Kent Refugee Action Network, said it would criminalise those simply looking for sanctuary.

Care4Calais said it was "shockingly inhumane."

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