When leaving Auckland this Christmas you can be assured things will not run smoothly, or as promised, because the MoH are in charge. They earned the equivalent of a PhD in mismanagement through their extraordinarily bad handling of MIQ facilities.
Southlanders are not fooled into thinking a digital vaccine certificate will protect them from Aucklanders escaping after more than 16 weeks in lockdown. Wheeeee, free at last!
Dunedin residents interviewed on TV3 this week expressed strong misgivings about Aucklanders arriving to contaminate their pristine Covid-free space. “Keep them out!” they cried in unison, anticipating Covid clusters popping up like mushrooms in their back yards.
What do Dunedinites not trust? The government, the digital vaccine certificate, Covid testing, or all three?
“My Vaccine Pass” gives the holder permission to join the PM’s team of five million and enjoy unlimited hospitality and large social gatherings.
My Vaccine Pass is valid for six months from the date it is downloaded, not from the date of the last jab. Ostensibly, the holder is certified as Covid free and should not catch or spread Covid but the government’s Covid propaganda and flawed planning indicate this is dangerous thinking indeed.
Pfizer immunity is optimal about two weeks after the second jab but wanes very quickly thereafter. A Qatar study found “protection dropped as low as 20% between 5 and 7 months after the second dose.” An Israeli study found a similarly waning protection:
The research team found that the level of antibodies circulating in the blood decreased at a consistent rate over 6 months. The level of neutralizing antibodies, which correlates with protection, decreased rapidly in the first 3 months but then slowly declined after that.
Six months after the second dose, neutralizing antibodies were substantially lower among men than women. They were also lower for people ages 65 and older and those with weak immune systems.
WebMD
The Israeli study indicates people who most need protection from the virus receive less protection from the Pfizer vaccine over time and are therefore at greater risk from the digital certification fiasco.
Aucklanders will undoubtedly wander around the countryside considering themselves and their vaxxed team of five million Covid free. Unwittingly, they will catch Covid and pass it on.
Why wasn’t the digital vaccine pass designed to start two weeks after the second jab when Covid immunity is at its highest, and expire six months from that date, instead of the date of download when protection will have all but expired for the most vulnerable?
The first day for digital download was 17 November and savvy travellers will delay their download to the last possible moment to maximise free movement by extending the expiry date. Dunedinites should be worried about visitors who were fully vaxxed before the end of May.
Businesses won’t be able to screen the passes until the government has the new Covid-19 Protection Framework in place, introduced on the 1st of November.
Ardern’s government first locked us down early last year without the legal authority to do so, retroactively passing legislation. They are doing the same with the Covid-19 Protection Framework which is not yet law.
The unvaxxed can leave Auckland with a less than 72 hours old negative test, but will have to cross their fingers and toes for the test results to arrive before they leave.
It is not reassuring that the Ministry of Health website advises people to contact their GP or testing centre where they were swabbed if they have not received test results within five days.
After enduring months of lockdown very few symptom-free Aucklanders will delay their travel waiting for those overdue, pesky, test results. Everyone is anxious to escape Auckland and they will leave anyway, hoping for the best.
Timely testing wouldn’t be a problem if we had access to the rapid antigen testing kits available overseas. Australians can buy them at the local pharmacy for $10-$15 but our government has forbidden us from importing rapid antigen testing for personal use.
The MoH sincerely believes it can execute better health outcomes than we can provide for ourselves. Poorly executed government controls and stern finger wagging is preferable to people from taking responsibility for the their own and others health.
The government is in control and the next waves of Covid are on them!
Stop whining people, this is the dictatorial Ardern government that you voted back in for a second term because you liked that they took charge in the Covid pandemic. Sit back and enjoy the ride because you know the government knows best.
It’s hard to imagine a more poorly designed system. What was supposed to keep NZ Covid free will all but guarantee Covid will hitch hike with Auckland travellers this Christmas.
Dunedinites, say hello to Covid.
Please share this article so that others can discover The BFD