The consent form for the Covid 19 vaccination. Photo / RNZ
The consent form for the Covid 19 vaccination. Photo / RNZ
Covid-19 vaccine
Fabulous news in the Chronicle editorial "Major weapon against Covid weakened" (March 23).
That headline reflects European opinion - and it cannot be more misguided.
To paraphrase the editorial: In a well-publicised and altruistic announcement, the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine suppliers ("New Zealand's" vaccine) reported to the world thatANY Covid-19 vaccine (not just theirs) greatly reduced the normal incidence of blood clots in all who have received any brand of Covid vaccine.
OK, I cite from the editorial, just to be sure this great message is getting across as quoted: "This [proportion of bloodclots] is MUCH LOWER (emphasis mine) than would be expected to occur naturally ... and is similar across other licensed Covid-19 vaccines."
"Now I am doubly keen for my own Covid-19 jab.," - Stand Hood. Photo /file
It beggars belief that large parts of Europe and UK became reluctant to receive the vaccine for this internationally publicised reason that not only won't they get Covid if they take it, but risk of insanity, amputations, heart failure or death (all possibilities of blood clots) are also greatly reduced. Have the Europeans gone mad?
Northern Hemisphere folks, Covid-19 vaccines have already been proven efficacious on two fronts by many millions of you who have already had the jab. Think of it this way: You have just taken part in what is already one of the largest and (we now know) successful cohort vaccine trials in all history.
The "double-blind, case-control" trials of any new medications, involving far smaller numbers of volunteers, cannot hope to match the certainty of very large cohort trials (which incidentally are also recognised in academia, as being just as legitimate, although sometimes impractical to do, as case-control trials).
Whanganui is an old town and as such had old underground infrastructure, which over the last 20 years, at great cost, we have worked diligently to replace - new piping and wells for our first-class water supply, stormwater drainage, separation for sewage and a high-class sewage treatment plant.
We have bitten the bullet and got it done; now the cities who have wasted their money on froth and neglected their underground infrastructure are crying it is too big a problem for them to afford, so want the taxpayer to take over the job, not their ratepayers.
If this is given the go-ahead then it is only fair to Whanganui that the Government buy our debt that is connected to this infrastructure in the last 20 years.
From all the work I have seen go on in Whanganui there can't be too much left to do, certainly manageable in the Government's budget, even though we know most of their budget will go to Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin - Christchurch should have replaced a fair bit of theirs.
The big cities will all need treatment plants and we know how they can run away with the money.
