To Vaccinate… Or Not?

Only 20 percent of New Zealanders are fully vaccinated. We’re down there with third world countries at the bottom of vaccination rates. Why?

Because we followed a Covid elimination strategy. It worked until NOW. Delta is ramping up and with 107+ cases and a further 14,000 close contacts in the past week!

Let’s look at the average Kiwi’s vaccination history – that’s me.

I’ve not died from these diseases because from birth to now; I have enjoyed the privilege of mass vaccination:

  • Measles, Mumps, Rubella
  • Polio
  • Yellow fever
  • Smallpox
  • Tetanus TB
  • Tuberculosis

Sadly, there was no vaccine for meningococcal meningitis when my three-year-old son caught it a year before I did. We were both hospitalised in ICU and survived. It took months to recover. My toddler never did. It left him with permanent brain damage.

It’s simple – Get It! Or risk facing lifelong consequences. So, you can imagine my horror when the online booking time showed my first one in mid-September and the second in late October.

Really, when a highly contagious Delta war is unfolding outside my door!

In recent months, my nephew is Sweden, and my daughter and son-in-law in South Africa have survived Covid (not the Delta version). Two of these three were seriously ill. A close friend in Cape Town survived Delta and described a horrific near-death experience a few weeks ago. She survived, which medical experts put down to having the first jab.

Like many Kiwis, I feel like a sitting duck as infectious numbers started ramping up. I had to get the first vaccine ASAP. I called all the clinics, pharmacies and even stood in vaccine stations, hoping for a defrosted jab. No luck.

Move over Road Runner – I had a plan, and they brilliantly executed it. WHO you know counts and yesterday after a bit of jiggery pokery, I got a call. “Get here in now and you’ll get the vaccine.” I got my first jab 15 minutes later – including travel time! Lockdown traffic has advantages. I booked the second for 28th October – the recommended time lag to maximise immunity.

I woke up this morning feeling slightly less anxious. This is no time for fence sitting. Get vaccinated it’s our only chance to escape this lockdown groundhog drama.

Enjoy a good week.

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