Vaccinate and living with Covid

Vaccinate and living with Covid

Australia is one of the few countries that has successfully eliminated the Covid virus to nearly zero existence until recently. The cost of a “clean” Australia includes the closing of our border from visitors of other countries, 14 days of quarantine for people entering, lockdown whenever the virus is detected and to prevent its possible spreading and a lot of testings with contact tracing and isolation for people under possible exposure of the virus. In particular, Victorians have paid the bitter price of six lockdowns with over 200 days and an economic downturn. However, we still have reported 818 new cases in NSW and 71 new cases in Victoria on Monday. We are not sure whether we can still be clean even though we have paid the high price.

Last weekend thousands of anti-lockdown protesters around Australia with hundreds being arrested and fined. The level of violence in the Melbourne protest was intolerable. Yes, as Premier Daniel Andrews suggested a protest rally could not stop the virus but helping it to spread. However, the voice of the society is clear that Australians could not afford stricter measures to shut down to kill the spread of the virus. Is there another way out?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed his opinion that Australians need to learn to live with the virus. We have published the whole message of Prime Minister Morrison for you to consider. The focus now is no longer the number of newly infected cases but the number of people hospitalized and died.

Experiences in Israel, Singapore, and the UK suggest that with a high vaccination rate, the damages caused by the Covid-19 virus can be contained. All leaders in Australia agreed that getting people vaccinated at the fastest speed with a supply of vaccines was the only way for Australians to get out of this tunnel.

Yes, no matter whether we can still contain the Delta strain of Covid virus, get the vaccine as fast as possible is the only way out. Many people tend to wait for a “better” vaccine, but as Premier Andrew has suggested, the best vaccine is the presently available vaccine. Vaccinate to protect yourself, your family, your friends, and your community NOW.

Raymond Chow

Publisher, Blessing CALD