Yesterday (July 23rd 2021), the national cabinet rejected the request of the NSW government for the other states to provide additional supplies of the Pfizer vaccine to assist in combating the spread of the far more contagious Delta variant of Covid 19 in its state.
The rejection of this request by the other states was not sensible!
It seems that premiers such as Dan Andrews (Vic) and Mark McGowan (WA) were more concerned to punish what they saw as an indulgent response to the initial virus outbreak in NSW than to address the real problem of containing and addressing what could well be a far more serious matter if the virus is to continue its spread through NSW and eventually to other states.
Perhaps WA (and Tasmania) may be far enough away and sufficiently isolated to avoid this spread, at least for a while.
However, there seems to be a failure to grasp the serious nature of the Delta variant and its ability to avoid containment so far in any lasting fashion in NSW and in overseas locations where it is present.
The strategy behind the NSW request.
It is acknowledged by NSW that the present measures have been ineffective in that state. The conclusion in NSW is that lockdown, no matter how severe will not be an effective solution. NSW has concluded, based upon its experience so far, that it needs to deal with the problem by vaccination. Because younger people are seemingly more susceptible to this variant of the virus, additional supplies of the Pfizer vaccine would be necessary to do the job of comprehensive virus suppression.
The virus has already spread widely in the community in NSW. If it is not stopped it will eventually be so widespread that it will not be possible to contain it in within the state boundaries. It will spread, at least to Queensland, South Australia and further into Victoria than it already has. It may be that Victoria will contain the spread with its policy of draconian lockdowns in place at the present, but ultimately that will be but a temporary solution.
What Premier Gladys Berejiklian of NSW was proposing was to fight the incipient spread of the virus on the ground where it is in place now. To restrict its spread by the application of targeted Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in strategic areas of NSW that will assist in preventing an uncontrolled spread to other states in Australia. In this way it will be contained in situ and we as a nation will not be required to deal with a much larger, more vicious, and more uncontrollable outbreak than the present one.
It is time to think nationally, strategically, and more selflessly in order to achieve an outcome that would preserve Australia’s record in successfully combating the spread of the virus in our nation compared to the experience of less happy countries in dealing with it.
For the good of the country, it is necessary that we put aside decisions motivated by resentment, parochialism and political advantage and make our decisions for the good of all Australians irrespective of where they live or the ideological complexion of the government that is in power in the state that they live in.