Mr & Mrs
It is not appropriate to direct people to a website that does not work properly. During the morning of 19 August 2021, we attempted to book our second vaccination. After entering the date of the first dose, the website directed us to a date 6 weeks later. The website stated that no appointments were available on the specified date and it was not possible to change the date. No progress could be made from that point.
The government’s initial attempt at a vaccine website also did not work. If the government is not competent to design and operate such a website, why not delegate the work to an organisation that is?
Trying to Make a Telephone Appointment
After waiting one hour on the phone, the next available appointment in Birkenhead was given as mid-September. This will be about 10 weeks after the first vaccination. We were also told that Auckland has only three vaccination sites available for current vaccine bookings – two in South Auckland and one in West Auckland. Why are the people in the rest of Auckland being effectively discriminated against?
The Media
We are being told by an extensive government PR campaign that vaccination is now available to all eligible New Zealanders, but the higher priority groups now cannot get the second dose in a timely manner. It appears that this government’s competence is limited to public relations and management of a largely compliant – if not sycophantic – news media.
It is dishonest to report only selected facts about the danger of this virus in order to create fear and to promote a vaccine that appears to make little difference to overall health outcomes. We also need to be told much more about the economic, social and mental health costs of the lockdowns that we are continually forced to endure.
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