Rollout pressure builds for Govt

An ‘Olympics’ of vaccination is needed, not a Wacky Races

The Government would have waited with bated breath to see how the mass vaccination event in Manukau kicked off yesterday. It was, as minister Ayesha Verrall noted “the Olympics of vaccinations”.

The question was whether it would end up with a medal.

The event was intended to be something of a showcase, a visual display that the Government was delivering on the long-promised “ramp up” of the vaccine rollout.

It had to go well to ensure people were willing to sign up for future events. The main aim should be to make it simple – and quick.

In that regard, the first day of the three-day event got mixed reviews and will do little to stifle calls for the Government to “on board” pharmacies and medical centres.

As of this week, 14.5 per cent of the population was fully vaccinated.

There are five months left to vaccinate the rest of the country if Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is to meet her promise.

New Zealand has languished at the bottom of the rung for vaccination rates in the OECD for months. Australia is overtaking us even on the PM’s preferred measure of the fully vaccinated, rather than one dose.

There is confusion about the slow progress being made through the group-3 contingent of those with underlying health conditions and those aged 65 or over.

As of this week, only 13 per cent of that group was fully vaccinated, yet the first tranche of group 4 was opened.

Was that sluggish uptake in group3 – open since March – because people were not bothering to book, or was the rollout to blame?

The numbers of those booking indicated it may well be the latter. The evidence around that is anecdotal. Some in Group 3 have reported getting vaccinations soon after booking. Others have been told the first slots are not until September or October. However, governments tend to focus on good numbers, not the bad, and this was no exception.

In a bid to defuse criticism over the sluggish rate of Group 3, Ardern this week released the numbers who have booked a vaccination, rather than just those who have had the jab.

The good number Ardern took heart in this week was that about 70 per cent of those aged 65 plus have now either had or booked jabs.

It is a good number because it means that hitting the 70 per cent mark across the wider population could come fairly easily.

It indicates that at least 70 per cent of the population is motivated enough to seek out vaccinations once they get the opportunity.

The further 15 to 20 per cent that the Government needs to be able to consider liberalising the borders will have to be mustered.

That group will be a combination of the hesitant, the complacent and those who simply can’t be faffed.

In New Zealand there is little urgency as yet.

The Government’s efforts to keep Covid-19 out have been highly successful. But it also means there is nothing to scare people into getting vaccinated earlier.

The government is not yet feeling the same wide-spread heat over the pace of the roll-out as other countries.

There are no marches in the streets by people demanding vaccines. (though there are some small skirmishes by people demanding the opposite).

That is partly because, unlike countries such as France and Canada, vaccinated people in New Zealand are not enjoying greater freedoms than the unvaccinated.

As yet, vaccinated New Zealanders cannot travel internationally without doing MIQ when they return, any more than the unvaccinated can.

It means those most motivated to get vaccinated are those who want to travel, or recognise the importance of allowing international travellers into New Zealand again. But they need everyone else to get vaccinated, too.

So Ardern’s view to the wider rollout is the same as for the Manukau event: what matters in the end is that arms are getting jabbed, regardless of which group they are in.

There were problems with a low uptake of bookings for that, resulting in the organisers issuing more than 140,000 invitations to fill 15,000 slots.

So if the initial target audience (South Aucklanders, Maori and Pacific people) was hard to get, the decision was made to open it to those who were more motivated and focus on the hard-to-gets a bit later.

Other countries’ efforts to rustle up the hard-to-gets include incentives and envy to threats.

US President Joe Biden said he would require unvaccinated federal employees to wear masks and socially distance – while their vaccinated colleagues did not have to do so.

It is a combination of stigmatisation and making it clear vaccinations also lead to a more comfortable life.

In France, which is nearing the 60 per cent mark for vaccinated people, only the vaccinated or those with negative Covid tests will be allowed into places such as restaurants, bars, and on trains.

People’s views on whether the rollout is too slow or not are also often dependent on personal appetite for an early vaccination.

Being an optimistic soul, the (razor-thin) silver lining of a slower rollout for myself is that a colleague dear to me intends to take off overseas the minute the precious elixir is in his arm.

The slower the rollout, the longer he will have to stick around.

It will not surprise you to learn that person thinks the rollout is a sluggish, slow beast and the disgrace of it should be ranted about from the rooftops.