A vial of the Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19. Photo / Ted S. Warren, AP, File
Three weeks after the Pfizer vaccine arrived in the country, we find out only 5 per cent of the available doses currently in the country have been administered.
With the risk of border workers being infected, again demonstrated by a flight crew member over the weekend, one has
to ask why the Government continues its "go slow" programme. Come on Minister Hipkins – get the other vaccines such as Moderna and AstraZeneca approved ASAP (they have been successfully administered to millions by now). Secondly – get a move on with the rollout of the vaccine in the country now.
Lockdowns are far too costly to our economy, health and mental health to be used repeatedly when we have better alternatives easily available.
Lucas Bonné, Unsworth Heights.
Australian crawl
When Australia reopens the bubble for New Zealanders, the New Zealand government should seriously consider making it a two-way bubble as soon as possible!
Has there been any cases of Covid in MIQ with travellers flying in direct from Australia? I'm sure if you look at the data, there have been zero cases in the past six months, or even longer than that?
The Government owes it to New Zealand businesses to open the bubble, especially since they have been seriously affected with the constant shutdowns.
MIQ is virtually impossible to book, which is exacerbated by unnecessary isolation of Covid-free people coming direct from Australia.
This situation is putting unnecessary risk to otherwise healthy people, having to spend two weeks in isolation with infected people.
The overall benefits far outweigh the almost zero risk.
At this point, with our recent community cases, it is more dangerous having people travelling from the North Island to the South Island, than travelling from Australia to New Zealand.
Joanna Simpson, Hobsonville Point.
There are have been some excellent letters printed by the Herald regarding the handling of Covid and the Government is responding as best as it can.
Why doesn't the Government set up a "think tank" where viable ideas can be submitted so that everyone can benefit?
There are no dress rehearsals for this, so everything that can be beneficial should be implemented.
Dave Miller, Tauranga.
We have been alerted to the sad state of children's dental care. Well done Marie Kaire (NZ Herald, March 8) for reminding us how children were once treated at the school dental clinic and major problems dealt with before impacting on the child's overall health.
We are now seeing the same problems with the demise of the Plunket nurse. Mothers with new babies had frequent house visits which not only provided for baby care but any family difficulties could be observed and relayed to the appropriate authorities.
With the demise of both child services – dental and Plunket care, we are now seeing the sad results.
What would be the cost of reinstating both, compared to the cost of fixing the ongoing repercussions – poor health, lack of parenting skills, dysfunctional families etc. etc.
New Zealand was applauded world-wide for these innovative childcare services. I also despair at what we have had, but decided they are no longer required.
Kate Gore, Pyes Pa.
The increase in Southern Motorway traffic (NZ Herald, March 8), which apparently has experts baffled, points out that train patronage along the southern corridors has dropped by over 50 per cent during 2020.
The detail not mentioned in this article is that for much of 2020, and still now into 2021, trains have been restricted in their speed over most of the southern region because of concerns about the track integrity.
My recent experiences of this are of trains taking twice as long, or even longer in the section from Papakura to Pukekohe, to cover the same journey because they are
being limited to a 40km/h maximum speed.
It is understandable that people are abandoning this form of public transport and returning to their cars.
Rhys Morgan, Northcote Point.
In 1979 there were 257 people who lost their lives on Erebus, a tragedy.
That same year over twice that number, 554 were killed on New Zealand roads. They have no memorial and the shame of it all is the road toll continues year after year. Expected, forgotten and never observed.
The memorial to the Erebus tragedy should be simpler and respectful and not on the pa site.
Graeme Leo, Sandringham.
I try to keep an ambivalent position on things like the royal family, seeing both the positives and negatives to its control and power, but Anna Pasternak's article headlined "What Meghan can learn from Wallis" (NZ Herald, March 8) required a leap of faith at best, or an annoyance over the misrepresentation of information given.
Not once did it mention the destructive element that Wallis Simpson would have brought to Great Britain had she stayed.
The article has the Duke and Duchess of Windsor living in exile and condemns this action by the then royal family. Edward and Wallis' absolute devotion to Hitler during World War II and their calculated political alliance with him was the reason they were exiled. The country saw this as treason and the Queen Mother made the decision that she would never speak to them or have them back in the country again. Was she wrong?
With Harry and Meghan, they have chosen to take their child and themselves away from a country that has a press devoted to sensational reporting at all cost. How many of us would be prepared to put our families in their hands? And if our child of mixed race was going to be targeted, as happened, would we stay, or would we go?
Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.
Your piece "What Meghan can learn from Wallis" (NZ Herald, March 8) overlooked three critical points.
When he abdicated in 1936, Edward VIII was actually the king. Harry is not and, as sixth in line to the throne, probably never will be.
At the time of the Abdication, Wallis was still married to her second husband. Meghan was already divorced from her husband when she met Harry.
Social attitudes have changed enormously since 1936. Divorce was frowned on then. Now, the Anglican Church will marry divorced people, and divorcees are received at court.
When the Abdication was announced in 1936, a popular Christmas carol adaptation ran: "Hark the Herald Angels sing, Mrs Simpson's pinched our King." Wallis was not popular in Britain in 1936. She became a target of anger, hate mail and bomb threats which forced her to leave the country.
Mike Groves, East Tāmaki Heights.
Well done to David Seymour (NZ Herald, March 8) for his critique of our Covid response and his common sense approach to the need for an upgrade to more sophisticated systems and structure. We seem to be stuck in a cycle of blunt instrument lock-downs due to failures at the border and the limitations of control mechanisms when a community case is detected.
Any incident or crisis management system should have a lead agency to coordinate the response as Seymour suggests. This body should have oversight of the entire exercise while tasking operational assets such as health, customs, police, etc to advance operations on the ground. The lead agency's function would be to identify weaknesses in the system and to introduce any other assets required to plug the gaps.
The Government appears reluctant to use business sector expertise in areas such as
logistics, technology or the management of large teams in various scenarios.
The most important lesson learned from the Christchurch earthquakes was the value of co-ordinated incident management.
We need the Government to be more aspirational and to broaden its thinking beyond the current blinkered approach.
George Williams, Whangamatā.
We must salute the brave protesters in Myanmar, as in Belarus, Syria, China and no doubt elsewhere. Their stance for human rights and democracy has been inspiring in the face of death and detention with torture and often death.
In Syria there are at least 200,000 detained by troops loyal to Assad who face grim torture. The UN has failed humanity, as the League was powerless to prevent the second world war.
Dictators who use the police and the military to persecute their people should immediately be indicted by the ICC and forced to stand trial.
One hopes that NATO will become a bulkhead against these fascists and that the arms trade will be curtailed and embrace ethics.
We must stand up to oppression and help our neighbours.
Steve Lincoln, Botany Downs.
On Sussexes
Being in love with your wife, forever happy, and with your beautiful children, is one of the best feelings in the world. Harry and Meghan should be enjoying this wonderful gift, be in peace, and simply steer clear from any drama. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
I wonder how much of her dramatic disillusionment with royal life was due to her realisation that she was not, and would never be, the most prominent person in their society? Jeanette Grant, Mt Eden.
On Hosking
Jacinda Ardern leaving the Hosking show is censorship by absence. Peter Newfield, Takapuna.
So the PM doesn't want to appear on the Mike Hosking breakfast show regularly now. I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the tough questions he asks and the accountability he demands. Janet Boyle, Ōrewa.
Can it be that the PM is as tired of Hosking's self-importance as the rest of us are? Rex Fausett, Auckland Central.
On vaccine
Our only child, a teacher, lives alone in London – we haven't seen her for 15 months and can't go without vaccination. We are both over 65 and don't know when we will be able to see her. But the sportspeople want priority jabs so they can go and play games? Paul Parker, Whangaparāoa.
Vaccinations must be prioritised by risk and vulnerabilities only - not sporting prowess, economics or politics. Russell Hoban, Ponsonby.
On congestion
The elegant solution to clogged up traffic is road pricing. Singapore does it well and the traffic flows. Frank Olsson. Freemans Bay.
He's facing five charges for alleged crimes over three days.