MANDATE COVID VACCINATIONS
HERE in Australia, most states and capital territories will
embark on the heartache and terror of our fourth or fifth month of the Covid
lockdown. Around the world in these, the darkest hours of our lives, we share
the same stories. I have many friends around the world who were not able to
visit a dying spouse, child or friend in hospital. They could not share those
dying moments, hold their hands and giving them the last moments of comfort.
They will never know what it was like because it did not happen. A friend is
getting a kidney transplant in London, but his relatives have been advised not
to visit him. Can anything be more harrowing than not being able to say goodbye
to a loved one? I think not. Only those friends who have been through this know
the true sorrow they will remember for the rest of their lives. My prayers and
thoughts with them always.
Here is a note I got from friends across the ditch (NZ): As we started with a few cases in Auckland
earlier this week, our PM decided we (the whole country) should be in total
lockdown. Sarah went to the supermarket for us after she finished work -
there was no Toast Bread or toilet paper which I had on my list. She did
manage to get Milk and some veges plus fruit. As she is an essential
worker, she goes to work in the hospital. She came masked and kept her
distance at our door; leaving the groceries and taking some empty bags and
puzzles which I cut out for her.
We have a Covid update at 1 pm every day when the
Prime Minister and Director General of Health give us the latest and then
journalists ask questions to which they reply. They will advise if the
country will change levels of lockdown by Tuesday.
Yesterday we were told that there were cases in the Coromandel, Hamilton
and Wellington besides many extra in Auckland. Since there were no
tourists coming in, the locals were encouraged to 'see the country' and support
the ski fields as well as the other attractions around NZ! So, chances of
the virus spreading are great!!
All activities in the Village have been suspended
and there are a couple of workers manning the gate, They collect bags of
groceries delivered by the supermarkets (which have been ordered online) and
only visitors are allowed in. Since we are the first house as you enter,
we also see masked people going for or returning from their walk.”
In Australia, the battle against the Corona virus has been a bit hit and
miss: some policies have been very good, others have had their pitfalls, more a
matter of learning from mistakes and some not so much.
The official position on vaccination
is: *It is voluntary
– as are all vaccinations in Australia – and people maintain the option to
choose.
This will
apply to any COVID-19 vaccination that may become available.
There may be
circumstances in the future in which proof of vaccination will be required,
such as border or re-entry requirements, or continued employment in particular
areas. One example of this is the mandatory vaccination requirements for
all residential aged care workers which will come into effect on 17 September
2021 in line with relevant state and territory directions.
With new COVID-19 vaccine developments
every day, it’s normal to have questions or concerns, and possibly feel
hesitant about getting a vaccine. That's why we're providing accurate,
evidence-based answers to questions about COVID-19 vaccines.”
I
think that policy is a load of poppycock. We are in an emergency and all tools
of dealing with an emergency must be used to combat the spread of the virus. To
me, the simplest way forward is mandatory vaccination for everyone. There are
good, honest, frightened people who are putting their faith in their Maker and
are quite convinced that their Maker will ensure they do not become victims of
the virus. I respect their faith but they only have to look around and see how many
similarly faithful have died from the virus around the world. Sometimes, the Maker needs a little help from us humans to help ourselves.
I
am clear in my own mind: Vaccination must be mandatory for everyone. Why should
anyone like me and others be put at risk because others choose not to vaccinate
and pose a threat to everyone else. All those idiots in the US and elsewhere
require a good kick in the pants.
In
my own suburb in NSW, I see a lot of idiots to walk around without their masks,
visit their friends, congregate in groups at the shopping centres and other
abuses of the lockdown directives. It is not their fault because their
ignorance comes from the shameful fault no one has communicated with them in
their own non-English language. There was a death in a home not so long ago, 50
or more families made a condolence visit, 28 or more people ended up victims of
the Corona virus. It is the same story all around NSW where people do not know
English, have little English and do listen to English radio or television. The
government should have a communications mechanism that speak to them in their own
languages. It is a tough thing because there are several ethnic languages
involved. But it has to be done. Door to door.
We
had our Census in the middle of the Covid lockdown. I am sure it is going to be
shambles. Normally in a census, the government has teams census supporters
going door-to-door collecting completed census forms and, if needed, helping
folks to fill the forms or providing them limited advice. People who have never
been in a census are naturally frightened in a new country, others are idiotic
enough to flaunt their reluctance, yet others make a mockery of an important
document by providing wrong information and yet others fear that they will be
persecuted for the information they provide. Ignorance is such, if you don’t
tell, they won’t know.
I
have written often about this lack of communication and I am sorry if I sound like
a broken record.
IF vaccination had been mandatory right for the
very start, I am sure the death toll would have been much less. There are other
faults in the system and I guess like everyone else our governments are living
and learning. That, however, has come too late for the people who have died
from the Corona Virus.
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