Covid diary

By
Wayne Hope
-
18
559

You won`t quite believe this. A woman I know in a small Coromandel town was rung by a community person -`how are you doing in lockdown,are you ok?​` The caller then proceeded to quote from the book of Revelation. From this encounter one can conclude either a) there are some nutbars out there or, b) end times are upon us. The freedom to be religiously deluded is, of course, a hallmark of democracy. But if the deluded also advance, publicly, opposition to the Covid 19 vaccine then they should be legally charged for visiting harm on society. Even a few new anti-vaxxers here and there in the community will compromise public health .

Meanwhile, back on planet earth, I went to get my first jab, on the fourth floor of an Auckland CBD building. There was no sign of the apocalypse there. Those I saw arriving and departing used the lifts one at a time. I was given a new mask and asked to queue for registration. A second queue filed into a room with vaccination booths. Everybody socially distanced and I detected no fear, anxiety or aggro. It was all low key and the whole operation felt professionally run. My general feeling was positive. If the New Zealanders I saw were representative then the country will do ok. The jab itself was close to painless . My left arm is slightly sore if I exercise it vigorously. I`m not doing that here at the keyboard, the arm only moves noticeably when it reaches out for another sip of Kilkenny.

Anyway, back to my vaccination story. Auckland city felt eerie – little traffic, the odd bus and scattered, masked pedestrians walking briskly to their destination. There were a few beggars, existentially as well as financially impoverished in the absence of street culture. They didn`t seem part of New Zealand`s team of five million to me -more like flotsam jettisoned by a society concerned only with its own health and security. There will be more such social debris in the months to come.

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18 COMMENTS

  1. Even a few new anti-vaxxers here and there in the community will compromise public health .

    Mostly it is going the other way, I think.
    Some I know who are usually Anti, some of them normally quite passionate about it, are now seeing Delta as “the exception that makes the rule”.

    I think a similar change happened during the polio eradication. And it worked. We don’t see polio now so we tend to downplay the value of that eradication. I did. Then I met someone who had got polio as a child, and he described the awfulness of the situation. He lived his life as a part-cripple. Unnecessarily.

          • No, I just wonder exactly what your issues are, what is it you fear & what you think is “really going on”?

            You merely post a lot of short, pointless comments with little or no real content, I’m trying to understand what you hope to achieve?

            Much as I personally might be happy with a cull of idiots, the greater flow on effects of such carnage are best avoided. So enlighten me, what is the future you desire?

            • Richard. The first thing that really pisses me of is referring to people as anti vaxxers. The second thing is that the current strategy of vax and lockdown your way out makes no sense at all. A risk based approach is necessary. The risk of dying from Delta if you are under 50 is very very low. This can be supported by a number of different government sources If I was allowed by this site I would post many accepted facts regarding risk and you all know that at least one person has died from a vaccine. I would write a 1000 word doc if the site allows it

              • The problem is that you massively underplay the risk (while overplaying the vaccine risks), our health system barely copes as it is (unless you have health insurance, we do, do you?) and would have been completely overrun with the original variant & the delta variant would have been a catastrophe, especially in Auckland, where poverty & over crowding is rife. One church service in the current outbreak infected over 200 people & put 30 in hospital.

                Our lockdowns have been severe but effective, meaning they were shorter and actually worked. For the past year or so we lived relatively normal lives, shopped, attended events, had holidays etc, while the rest of the world has bounced in & out of half arsed lockdowns whilst their infection rates & deaths soared. We have been lucky to have the Government we do with regard to COVID, outside of tourism, most of our businesses have done surprisingly well & employment is up.

                COVID isn’t a hoax, COVID isn’t just a cold, COVID is a dangerous pandemic. Countries of all persuasions, democracies & dictatorships, capitalist & communist, rich & poor didn’t get together and decide to wreck their economies, kill their citizens, closing businesses & borders for no reason. Generally they have a hard time agreeing on anything, even issues as serious as climate change, but across the board they decided this is serious & required action. The actions have varied, with different outcomes & body counts, but very few countries have done nothing & almost none have been unaffected.

                Selective lockdowns, border controls, MIQ & vaccines are all effective controls that will be part of our lives for a few years to come, even if COVID does become endemic in our country. This won’t change regardless of who is in power. The body count may vary, but no government can blatantly sacrifice their senior citizens, the poor, other marginalised communities, as well as the fit & healthy, and not expect a backlash. It’s political suicide. We live in interesting times, but you can count yourself lucky you live in New Zealand under this government. Take care & stay safe.

  3. …’The freedom to be religiously deluded is, of course, a hallmark of democracy. But if the deluded also advance, publicly, opposition to the Covid 19 vaccine then they should be legally charged for visiting harm on society. Even a few new anti-vaxxers here and there in the community will compromise public health’…

    —————

    I’m sorry, you are stepping dangerously close to what you accuse others of doing, : fascism.

    Emotional, intellectual bullying and fascism.

    The Hitler Salute
    https://youtu.be/C8iujof6IL8?t=3

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