Thread by @FreedomFriesInc

(1) Covid in NZ update thread 2 for 18 August 2021.

This godforsaken government decided our frontline police officers weren't a priority for vaccination.

Just 4,000 of 10,000 have been vaxxed so far. And they are sent out to deal with the public wearing a mask & no other PPE.

(2) This is the kind of callous stupidity that brings down governments.

I think the oppo parties should prepare themselves to hold a vote of no confidence if they can get the chance.

Good thing we have the Westminster system, allowing us to do that.

(3) It's evening on Day 2 of NZ's Delta variant response.

In just the first 10 minutes of nightly news from the state owned broadcaster TVNZ, we could see that most of the public are sufficiently aware of the danger. That is heartening.

(4) I didn't know that 6,000 police officers have so far not even been given the opportunity to be vaccinated. The first shipments arrived here in Feb. It is now August.

Govt have had 6 months to achieve this vital task.

(5) I would love to be able to communicate with 6,000 Kiwis who have vaccination appointments made for the next few days. They could one by one give their appointment to a police officer.

Local site managers should ignore govt & invite their town's cops in. Do it after hours.

(6) I had been predicting it would take a few weeks for enough Kiwis to realize the life-threatening incompetence of this government & start insisting they do the right thing in all of their Covid related decision-making. Maybe that will take only days now.

(7) NZ appears to be in the unique situation of having high public awareness of the dangers of the Delta variant, to the extent that on average we are taking it more seriously than our government is.

The only equitable way to distribute the vaccines is to do it quickly.

(8) Having to halve the number of people being vaccinated in a given site will slow it down.

Obviously, larger venues that allow for social distancing should have been in place from the start.

I just smh at the incompetence.

(9) We have enough trained vaccinators. We're just not utilizing them properly. Extending the hours of opening at sites would help.

(10) Cranking up the vax program for 14 days would do far more good than most of the other things being tried.

The vaccinators wouldn't mind. They are worried members of the public like the rest of us.

Along with police, taxi drivers & supermarket workers are missing out.

(11) If taxi drivers went on strike because they can't get a vax, it's disabled people and seniors who would be hardest hit.

And supermarkets are the busiest place in NZ during lockdowns. Those staff already get harassed and assaulted by idiots during the pandemic.

(12) This article is very out of date now (30 June) but the modelling suggested a potential death toll of around 10,000 people with Delta when only about 40% are vaccinated in NZ.

I could see that happening, with about 800 ventilators for 5 M people.

stuff.co.nz/national/healt…

(13) NZ's Covid situation is getting updated every few hours, late into the night. That's good, and I think the media so far are doing a great job of questioning the government and keeping us informed. The scale of this outbreak is increasing exponentially. As you'd expect.

(14) The PM said today that contact tracing has shown there are people who may have had Covid when they traveled to the South Island, where I am. No surprise at all.

Truly hoping our 3 day lockdown becomes 7 days. It's safer for us, & easier if the whole country is consistent.

(15) And the wage subsidy for SMEs only kicks in at 7 days. So those outside the two regions with the 7 day lockdown who started with a 3 day lockdown have a drop in income without the compensation. I can't see this outbreak ending in 2 days.

(16) NZ is now under a mask mandate, for those aged >12, & others with a medical exemption. IMO most kids >5 could be trusted to keep a mask on most of the time. I'd rather the threshold was lower, at least to age 8.

Anyway, I expect our 10 cases to increase a lot overnight.

(17) Correction: In tweet (16) I meant to say the current mask mandate exempts <12 year olds and any >12 year olds with a medical exemption. Not many would fit in the exempt group.

Today's 1pm Covid briefing is in just over 2 hours' time.

(18) NZ's doctors and nurses know what is likely to happen within a few weeks.

The failure to provide & properly use PPE at all times is something NZ has failed to address in the 15 months we've had between our 2 national lockdowns.

PPE is the most important safety measure.

(19) There's a tendency among hospitals to accept patients on a first come first served basis. That is dangerous during an emergency like this. Access should be based on clinical needs & prognosis.

Capacity should be reserved for imminent admission of those with higher need.

(20) The same applies to vaccination slots in NZ atm.

Police have greater need than whoever has booked in for today's slots.

NZ's vax program is poorly designed and consequently is slow to adjust to changing conditions.