Jabs should have been mandatory
THE whole sad and sorry saga surrounding the now vexed issue of organisations making Covid vaccinations mandatory would not be the sad and sorry saga it has now become had the government had the fortitude to make vaccinations mandatory from the start.
It’s all well and good for people to say the government shouldn’t be making mandatory the kind of decisions that would almost certainly lead to the tragic early deaths of some of its citizens. What do they imagine is going to happen (and already has in some cases) to those who choose not to get vaccinated, once the Delta virus is allowed to wash over them like the great wave of oblivion that it will be for the many whose physical constitutions are even more feeble than the mental constitutions of those responsible for upholding Australia’s very own Constitution? I am, of course, referring (unkindly, I admit) to politicians like those who made voting mandatory in Australia in 1924.
Michael McCall Primrose Sands
WISE LEADERSHIP
I COMMEND Premier Peter Gutwein on not being pressured to open our borders prematurely. I consider the socalled “changing goalposts” a good sign that decisions are being carefully considered and new data being taken into account. Once borders are open, it will be too late to wish things had been done differently. Wise leadership.
Wendy Christie
Taroona
PENALISING THE MAJORITY
IF the Premier really is saying he won’t open up till we’re 90 per cent vaccinated, he should immediately tell the unvaccinated they can’t go to the pub, the cricket or even a cafe or he’ll be letting the lazy, the complacent or the just plain wacky penalise the vast majority
of Tasmanians who’ve also chosen to protect their community as well as themselves and families. He shouldn’t allow members of the “Dumb Ways to Die” club to keep the state in cold storage. The unfairness is that they are the very people who will still expect a hospital bed to be available if they get Covid, as they statistically will. The fairest time to open up would be that point when everyone has had a genuine chance to be fully vaccinated, the only caveat being that there may have to be very targeted lockdowns to prevent our hospital staff from being overwhelmed. Geoffrey Robertson
Pontville
UNENVIABLE POSITION
PREMIER Gutwein is in an unenviable position in setting a firm date for our state borders to reopen to the mainland given the situation with Covid-19 running rampant in some mainland states, and the prospect of the highly infectious Delta strain infiltrating into our state. The tourism industry and wider business community is desperate for Tassie to reopen its borders at the earliest opportunity, but Premier Gutwein is remaining cautious, acting on the advice of the Director of Public Health, Mark Veitch. It is inevitable our state will reopen to the rest of Australia and the international market, but this will only be achieved by vaccination. Irrespective of whether it is an 80 per cent or 90 per cent vaccination target, the message is crystal clear to all Tasmanians eligible for the vaccine — don’t procrastinate, just get fully vaccinated. Chris Davey
Lindisfarne
SAFETY FIRST
WHILE one can feel empathy with the hospitality and tourism sectors, surely those affected can understand the need to keep restrictions until the vaccine rollout reaches at least 90 per cent of the population who have received double doses.
For the Prime Minister and others to scream for border openings is tantamount to stupidity. While we have ridiculous anti-vax campaigns and protests we will have increasing numbers of infections. Bite the bullet, Mr Morrison, and mandate compulsory vaccines for Australians with no exception but a proven medical exemption.
Stop pushing for border openings as it is akin to asking for very high infection rates and fatality.
Scott White Sorell
SLEDGE-HAMMER MESSAGE
THE Premier and Department of Health deserve plaudits for the vaccine rollout that has progressed far better than other states with low infections. However, requiring 90 per cent double vaccinated before opening will need some very blunt marketing. Overseas evidence shows vaccine uptake is not linear. It diminishes after 80 per cent.
A lack of virus also makes people complacent. Our current marketing to this group’s sense of community is clearly not effective, or they would already be vaccinated.
To achieve 90 per cent by Christmas, the government will need to push a much stronger message than Queensland. We need to stress the virus will be in Tasmania in a few months and the unvaccinated will get sick and could die. On the flip side, the vaccine is 99 per cent protection against death.
Without a tough message, hesitant people won’t assess the risk properly and will stay unvaccinated. The impact on long-suffering hospitality businesses of losing another peak season will be devastating. The government’s media campaign has been fantastic so far, but convincing the last hesitant 20 per cent will require a sledge-hammer message. Owen Taplin
Sandy Bay