A healthcare worker was injected with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a hospital in the United States. The vaccine is coming to New Zealand. Photo / AP
A healthcare worker was injected with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a hospital in the United States. The vaccine is coming to New Zealand. Photo / AP
EDITORIAL:
After a year in which New Zealand got the better of the pandemic, who would blame the Prime Minister if she was tempted by an extra helping of Christmas pav in celebration.
Things are looking good here, especially in comparison to the continued coronavirus misery overseas.
Vaccines are aroundthe corner and the Government was able last week to outline some details of what will happen.
There's clearly a lot of necessary work going into our own rollout and other developments for next year.
Vaccine firms are able to submit data to Medsafe in rolling applications, more people will be trained to vaccinate patients and nine special freezers have been bought for the ultra-cold Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Adding two more vaccine agreements gives reassurance that all Kiwis can be covered and Pacific neighbours supported. It's also a Plan B in case of problems or delays.
Jacinda Ardern said the new deals mean the country will have three different types of vaccine technology available in case some are found to be unsuccessful.
Vaccinating border staff initially will hopefully increase their - and the wider community's - safety before the rest of us get it.
The vaccine information came after announcements of planned travel bubbles in the first quarter of next year with the Cook Islands and Australia.
The travel bubble announcement with Australia was somewhat surprising considering our vaccine timing. Why take the risk when vaccines are near?
And now, by the Government's own timeline, vaccinations for the general public apparently won't occur until the second half of next year - after the travel bubble is supposedly meant to start.
As the major Sydney cluster shows, there are no guarantees those travel plans won't be upset, regardless of what we might want or expect.
Dozens of cases have forced a four-day lockdown of the city's northern beaches, causing other Australian states and territories to impose border restrictions. Some people who tried to flee on Friday were placed in immediate hotel quarantine for 14 days when they landed in another state.
The future transtasman travel bubble is meant to be between areas a month free of Covid cases.
It is very easy to imagine a situation where Kiwi tourists could get caught up in a surprise outbreak in Australia, perhaps with an unknown source. Would they then have to do quarantine time on their return?
The hope with vaccines is that general immunity will eventually allow more normal travel - but still with covid documentation, tests, advisories and precautions.
Just getting shots into arms next year will take time. And, longer-term protection is still to be proved.
The emergence of two new variants of the virus in Britain and South Africa could mean covid vaccines have to be scientifically updated at some stage after 2021, but it is too soon to know.
The BBC reports "there is no evidence to suggest the new variant [in the UK] reacts differently to vaccines". The New York Times reports that experts believe it would take years "for the virus to evolve enough to render the current vaccines impotent".
In the meantime Brexit has come early for Britain with some European countries suspending travel from the UK over the variant, which is reportedly easily spread.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced a "stay at home" order for London and southeast England to slow a new coronavirus strain that is significantly more infectious. https://t.co/cSghGsdUN7
With summer, holidays and cricket underway, it is very easy for people to be complacent about the virus.
But it is a dangerous period in other countries at the moment and people returning are still bringing Covid-19 into managed isolation.
Germany, which has coped well with the pandemic for much of the year, has had to bring in tougher restrictions. Italy will spend the holidays in lockdown.
French President Emmanuel Macron is the latest political leader to get the virus. India has passed 10 million cases. There will be tight restrictions for Christmas in Bethlehem this year because of covid. Sweden has had to reverse course on restrictions.
Even when planning and attention to detail is good, there's always potential for events to come along to cause disruption and unease.
