"what do those who govern think?"

 

Comrades

It seems the prospect of an early election this year is now off the political menu with ScoMo battling to contain the multi-level minutely-layered myriad of Clusterfucks, known as the Covid19 vaccine "roll out" (which is neither out, nor rolling). You can't see him trusting the voters to return him to office quick smart, given he has next no majority in the House and has burning - nay blazing - issues left, right, and centre. Lucky Ol' Albo needs to do nothing at all while it all implodes around the party of Andrew Peacock. The problem with voters is they remember very well your hopeless debacles, and quickly forget any successes you may have had. They will remember Hawaii and the bushfires, Scotty from Marketing, they will remember your "women problem", they will remember very well not being able to easily get a vaccine when it suits them - but they will forget all about how brilliantly you managed the pandemic itself, which led to the effective end of community transmission and the eradication of the disease (for the time being). The whole purpose of the exercise was not a public health issue anyway, but rather to return society (read: the economy) to "normal", and once that "normal" has been achieved, folks forget all about how they actually got there. People hate change. They're too busy enjoying the "good life", unless of course you are unemployed, old, poor, crippled etc.

In my personal experience, ScoMo in his wisdom has put a label on me; I've been classified by the bureaucracy in Group 1B when it comes to Covid vaccinations (over 60, chronic disease, compromised immune system) so I should be fairly near the front of the queue, you'd think? In fact the Govt's own website says I can get a vaccine right away at a "vaccination centre" or a "Pfizer hub". Really? As far as I know, neither of these things exist. WTF?  But now, as he clutches at straws, our Great and Glorious Leader, is exhorting everyone aged over 50 (is is that everyone under 50??) to rush out and get themselves a shot in the arm ASAP. Totally confused, I consulted my beloved GP on the issue, and he's the most humane and pragmatic medico I've come across. "No, wait. There's no hurry" was his advice, rolling his eyes. Paraphrasing him here - "there is effectively no community transmission and you won't be going overseas this year, right? There's zero chance you will get Covid if you wash your hands. In any case, all this stuff is experimental by definition given its astonishingly short development time. It really is a miracle we have them at all, given there has never been a vaccine for a coronavirus before. Some of the stuff they're doing with DNA editing is incredible. And while the risk of being killed by an Astra-Zeneca blood clot is infinitesimally remote, it's still there. It would be enough to red flag any other drug, and it wouldn't be listed on the PBS under normal circumstances. And don't bother to get a seasonal 'flu shot until May/June either, or July even. No one is bringing it into the country from the northern hemisphere, and it could be like last year where there was no real 'flu season at all, just a small spike in September. In any case, you need the Pfizer. I've got the facility to keep it here at -70°C, but I haven't got any, don't know if I'll get any, and don't know when that might happen. In fact, apart from the usual ones for children, I haven't got any vaccines of any kind in stock at the moment, so I can't help you even if I thought you needed it." (This from a Doc who says he vaccinated 50+ people a week against 'flu in the car park during last year's lockdown).

So there. Can't argue with that. Still, it is comforting to know that National Cabinet will now suddenly go from meeting once a month to twice a week to thrash out what to do about this political migrane, never mind the utter shambles. But with the States hurling insults and general abuse at Canberra and fighting amongst each other in the complete & utter absence of any national leadership from a bozo who again had an empathy problem by actually smiling throughout while announcing the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, it only begs the question seen here in Spanish on a stencil photographed last week on a shuttered shop in Madrid: "What do those who govern think?"