Trust
To believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable.
TRUST | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary
“Trust is the foundation for the legitimacy of public institutions and a functioning democratic system. It is crucial for maintaining political participation and social cohesion.”
ttps://www.oecd.org/gov/trust-in-government.htm
Trust can be viewed both as trust in our government as an institution and as social trust, being how we trust each other. The greater our trust in the government. the more likely we are to follow their recommendations and mandates but this trust is now under threat. On a social-psychological basis, we are being conditioned to not trust each other, as we are encouraged by the government and their agents to dob in our neighbour for infractions of their rules such as refusing to wear a mask muzzle. The NZ government has deliberately wrought a decline in social trust, further separating us one from another and deepening the many divisions in our society.
Trust in the government has its foundation in truth, transparency and responsibility for decisions made on our behalf. This Labour Government’s track-record on these cornerstones of trust is not impressive, as the population has been forced to accept vaccination or forfeit employment, income, housing and self-sufficiency; let alone the freedom to determine their own choice of medical intervention. A lot of us have lost trust in the government for their rolling maul of mandates, and also business confidence, business, employment, rights, freedoms and peace of mind.
“Liberal democracy in the UK, and across the western world, is under strain. The leap of faith that voters make when they entrust a small group of people to govern on their behalf is extraordinarily powerful. It allows societies to make collective decisions democratically and efficiently – without the need to involve everyone, all the time”.
Yet it is also very fragile. Trust in politics is easily lost and hard to regain.
But regain it we must. The decline of trust in politics in the UK and in other liberal democracies over recent decades is damaging society. It is both cause and consequence of the rise in support for populist parties, rhetoric and causes.
Those who dare to question our government are penalised, as evidenced by Brian Tamaki’s run-in with Auckland authorities, and now with Christchurch. The Christchurch City Council has decided to invoice “anti-Government” protesters.
How can we trust a regime that allows its favourites to bypass MIQ requirements or to gain places when there are none to be had for the rest of us? How can we trust a system that allows itself to be represented by liars who cannot differentiate between a paddle and a swim? How can we trust a Director-General of Health who then supports both that liar and the lie? How can we be expected to place our trust in government representatives who break the rules? If we are expected to follow their mandates and requirements then they must be worthy of our trust. But they are not. We are fed a diet of lies, spin, propaganda and obfuscation.
Should we dare to investigate science other than that from the podium of lies, we are branded as anti-vaxxers, right-wing conspiracy theorists, anti-government protesters and white supremacists; yet all we are doing is seeking the truth. We want to trust the information on which we base our decisions, but it is now besmirched with associations of ill intent and misinformation. The government can hardly be surprised that we lack trust in them. Too much that they have done has cost them any right to expect our trust: it must be earned, not taken for granted.
Booster shots are now underway in New Zealand. Can we trust this next step on the vaccination continuum?
“May 2021, executives at Pfizer and BioNTech stated that individuals will likely need a third dose within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, with high-risk groups expected to be the first in line. At the time of the original publication of this story, (May 5 2021) regulations surrounding booster shots for COVID-19 vaccines were not formally established.”
“A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel initially rejected the use of widespread booster shots after some members said that Pfizer did not provide enough data on the safety of extra doses. However, the agency walked back on its decision less than a week later, amending an emergency use authorization to allow for a third dose to certain at-risk individuals.”
“However, on Sept. 24, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed COVID booster shots for millions of older Americans. The agency signed off on recommending booster shots to people 65 and older, residents in long-term care facilities, and those between 50 and 64 who have underlying health issues to get a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine six months after receiving their full regime. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of their mRNA COVID vaccines, like Pfizer and Moderna, or two weeks after a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Additionally, people can get a booster if they are between 18 and 64 and are healthcare workers or have a job that increases their risk of exposure.”
“At the time of the original publication of this story, (May 5 2021) regulations surrounding booster shots for COVID-19 vaccines had not been formally established. While the vaccine has caused some adverse reactions, including Guillain-Barré syndrome and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, health experts argue that such reactions are rare and vaccines are generally safe.”
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/michael-yeadon-vaccine-death/
And here we are, being required to have booster shots just four months (not the advised six) from the updated report (24 September 2021) that holds that the regulations surrounding booster shots had not been formally established. Most of us are already double vaccinated.
Three shots have become the new two.
“I think we will stop calling people with two shots fully vaccinated within a week or two,” Robert Wachter, the chair of UCSF’s Department of Medicine, said in an online discussion last month hosted by the San Francisco Chronicle. “I just think they’re not. I wish they were,” he said. “Omicron is going to make that case quite vivid.”
COVID-19 booster shots: Will I need a fourth vaccine dose? – CNET
And then the booster to boost the booster as is happening in Israel.
“Scientists in Germany, Israel, the UK and other countries are considering a fourth shot of a COVID-19 vaccine for the general public. Fauci said a fourth jab is “conceivable” in the US, too.
https://www.cnet.com/health/covid-19-booster-shots-will-i-need-a-fourth-vaccine-dose/
And then? A fifth, or sixth? More? It seems very likely, yes.
Can we, each of us, hand on heart, swear that we trust our Government and believe that it is good and honest and will not harm us, or that the vaccine is safe and reliable? A rhetorical question, surely.