LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Water supply

MAYOR Antonio on April 12 stated there was substantial land supply in the Toowoomba region

For the next five years, were does Toowoomba’s water supply fit in this scenario?

JOHN HEALY, Glenvale

AstraZeneca vaccine

REGARDING Dr John Hall’s observations on the government’s decision on vaccine procedure alterations, one major correction needs to be made.

The occurrence of blood clotting for the AstraZeneca vaccine recipients is 0.000004 per cent, not 0.0004. Dr Hall could be excused for this since the British Medical Journal cites the same incorrect figure on its website. The 79 cases registered in the UK after 28 million vaccinations equates to a rate of slightly less than 0.000003 per cent.

However, corrections aside, this figure is not as vanishingly small or subject to dismissal as Dr Hall implies when he states, “The risk of complications is really low”.

Statistically yes, but if, for example, the 14 million or so Australians in the atrisk demographic are vaccinated with the AstraZeneca product, then according to statistics, 56 will develop clots and one quarter thus affected will die.

So that’s a probable (not possible, probable) 14 deaths.

Fourteen deaths and 14 grieving families are not so easy to dismiss.

Yes, there are other factors which favour sticking with AstraZeneca, primarily the facilitation of a rapid vaccine rollout (or so we hope) and the commensurate lessening of financial stress and mental health issues.

But still … hands up all those between the ages of 12 and 50 who want to take the risk of being one of the unlucky ones?

The other point I’d like to make is that

Dr Hall goes on to say, “But when the government talks about these complications in public and the public does not fully understand the process then it may sound worse than it really is”.

Is Dr Hall suggesting that matters such as selection and administration of lifesaving vaccines be decided behind closed doors, and then presented to the populace as a fait accompli, when the populace has been already been inundated about covid news via regular news channels and the social media and is already well (or perhaps not so well) informed?

Everybody and their dogs know about the AstraZenca issues and the first hint of the government trying to keep the populace in the dark will (if I may steal from a quote I recently heard), have everyone lining up at Bunnings and Mitre 10 to buy pitchforks.

Never mind the “messaging”, the only way to deal with these covid issues is to treat the public like grown-ups and tell the truth.

That is, in fact, what the government has done thus far and I’m confident that, apart from the usual ratbags on social media, the public will accept the their decisions and just get on with it.

When Dr Hall criticises the government for talking in public and causing unrest; well, isn’t that exactly what he himself is doing? I’m sure he means well but I feel his statements are somewhat unconsidered.

I’ve always been fond of Will Rogers, the American humorist and my favourite of his many aphorisms is, “Never miss a good chance to shut up”. Perhaps Dr Hall, despite his best intentions, may have benefited from that piece of wisdom.

(I am aware that Mr Rogers’ aphorism applies to me as well but I’m just a humble letter-writer, not a member of the medical community).