Editorial: A long period of challenges and pressures ahead over vaccines

A health worker loads syringes with a Covid-19 vaccine in Los Angeles, California. Photo / AP file

EDITORIAL

A year after the coronavirus outbreak officially became a pandemic, the Government and the health authorities face a new set of challenges.

For a year, with the border closed, New Zealand was able to chart its course, making changes as it went along.

The country was the petri dish in which the Government tested its elimination strategy. Comparisons with the chaos and disaster that was going on elsewhere worked in our favour.

We were worried about impacts on the economy and virus clusters, but only a few other countries were as effective at keeping their populations safe.

Still, success is fleeting and quickly becomes a memory. Now the world is well and truly into a new phase - vaccination and recovery.

The public here has been given a broad outline of our vaccine programme, but will increasingly want more detail. Although we are fortunate to have time to get it organised properly, the experience of the past year suggests the authorities will need help to anticipate necessary changes.

Hopefully, the remit of the new Covid-19 advisory group includes the rollout, because there's a lot of decisions to be made around how vaccines will help us reopen to the world.

New Zealand is only a team of five million and yet the plan is to take all year to complete the vaccination rollout before the borders reopen.

The United States has already given doses to 106 million people and fully vaccinated 36 million. It expects to be finished in July - the time doses start to be distributed to the final two million here.

Britain is the first big country to show similar results to Israel, where a jump start on vaccinations led to falling deaths and hospitalisation rates https://t.co/lEDAhGZq4Z

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) February 23, 2021

The United Kingdom aims to give 32 million people considered priorities at least one dose by April 15. The remaining 21 million will have their first dose by the end of July.

Our steady timeline is going to come under pressure as other countries start to allow vaccinated people to fly without quarantines and more travel bubbles open. People here who have been vaccinated will want the same opportunities.

Australia is working with Singapore to open up one such bubble.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said: "As the vaccine rolls out not only in Australia but in other countries, we will reopen more bubbles".

EU struggles with vaccine delays and new Covid surge https://t.co/OQbveyk6gS

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 13, 2021

Travel bubbles have been stop-start affairs, and vaccination could provide the necessary stability for them to work. The planned immunisation database, with people able to digitally access their records, will be crucial to fly overseas and to get travel insurance.

More nuanced, practical and detailed information on how to stay safe while in other countries, even with vaccine protection, would be a good idea.

Business and tourism travel is currently impractical, with quarantines required when you return. Perhaps a combination of vaccination, self-isolation at home for a period after overseas travel, phone-tracking, and testing could work as a substitute for quarantine.

For all the public debate over the future of international tourism in New Zealand, the Government will have to work out how to allow in vaccinated tourists.

Gradually, the responsibility for a person's health risk is going to have to return to them - rather than the Government deciding the rules.

The transition period for that to happen is going to require more flexibility than there is at the moment.