Mangold-wurzels and their German roots

Vaccine for shielders | Mangold-wurzels | Geordies | Children in Need | Country diary

Why have those advised to shield from Covid-19 been forgotten when it comes to the priority list for vaccination (How will a coronavirus vaccine be rolled out to the UK population?, 11 November)? The list is mainly based on age, not vulnerability. My healthy wife, aged 65, will have higher priority than me, aged (nearly) 64, even though I am extremely vulnerable because I am on immune-suppressing drugs.
Clive Mowforth,
Coleford, Gloucestershire

Brigid Purcell (Letters, 12 November) is right that mangold derives from the German mangel, but the reference is to scarcity: this is a crop that thrives when other harvests fail. And the German turnip winter" (steckrubenwinter) was three winters into the war in 1916-17, when the allied blockade was throttling supplies and even mangold-wurzels were rationed.
Jane Caplan
Emeritus fellow, St Antony's College, Oxford