“Data collected by Bloomberg shows the milestone of 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine administered worldwide has been passed, leaving big questions for the Government about where New Zealand will stand relative to other countries as the worldwide programme continues,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“If the medical regulator gives the all-clear to New Zealand’s first vaccine today it won’t change anything, we still won’t have any vaccine for months.
“A very effective spin campaign is being waged whereby commentators well-disposed to the Government tell us we should actually be thankful to be at the back of the queue for rolling out coronavirus vaccines.
“We’re being told we’ve done so well we can afford to wait, but the opposite is true.
“Despite well publicised issues with supply, there are almost as many people being vaccinated every day across the planet as there are people in New Zealand – 4.25 million in the latest count – and the figure is rising daily.
“A week ago in was little more than 3 million.
“Being at the back of the queue for vaccination means being at the back of the queue re-integrating with the countries we want to travel to, trade with and invest in.
“It’s inevitable that by the middle of the year there will be essentially open borders between the countries that have moved fastest to vaccinate, and that network will grow exponentially.
“A Covid-19 vaccination passport will become your ticket to freedom, yet New Zealanders are going to be forced to watch on, locked down in a largely Covid free country.
“Just how is that a good outcome?
“Shouldn’t our Government have done a better job of prioritising our recovery from the pandemic?”
ENDS