VINTAGE WILCOX

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COVID-19

The government has been found wanting once again

Rapid antigen tests in the UK have individual bar codes which people photograph after taking their free test and upload the result to the NHS website, whether they are negative or positive. This means the health authorities have a clearer idea of the spread of COVID in the community. Here in Australia we have been caught short with limited availability of rapid tests. We only have a co-ordinated system for recording PCR test results for symptomatic people which now means we don’t have an accurate picture of the total COVID situation. Why haven’t we learnt from other countries’ experiences to make systems here run smoothly? Once again, the federal government’s response has been found wanting and we flounder around while Omicron continues on its merry way.
Sue Peterken, Berwick

It is clear the system is in chaos
My son, having a possible COVID symptom, attended a Box Hill site yesterday morning about an hour before it opened, to be told after waiting in the queue for about half an hour that he would not be tested as the site was closing for the day due to the enormous number of people who had arrived as early as 5am to be tested. He cannot work until he has been tested and is negative. Next to him was an immigrant who had arrived in Australia at 2am yesterday and was required to be tested within 24 hours. Despite his entreaties he too was refused.

It is quite clear the system is in chaos and has broken down. The government, both state and federal, want all interstate and overseas travellers to be tested as well as those with symptoms and yet has not provided sufficient facilities to enable this. It is a disgrace this is still happening two years after the pandemic took hold. I am angry for my son who is losing money because of this government incompetence and for all those in fear of deportation or missing already paid-for holidays as a result.
Peter Mecoles, Camberwell

Pharmacy profits put ahead of Australians’ health
The pacifying talk goes on and on, not from those with knowledge of infectious diseases, but from politicians chasing popularity: we will all get Omicron in due course, we should stop worrying and learn to “live with” the Omicron variant. But for more than 10 per cent of the population, contracting any form of COVID could mean serious illness or death. There are about 2.5 million Australians who are 70or over, and an unknown number with compromised immune systems, and/or other serious health problems – all of which make them vulnerable to COVID. It is an unpleasant feeling to see younger, fitter politicians ignoring our situation. Each day it becomes harder to protect ourselves, as case numbers skyrocket, “close contacts” are redefined, and there’s no information on where outbreaks are occurring. PCR tests are now endurance tests even for the young and fit, while the few pharmacies still stocking rapid antigen tests ask inflated prices. Indicating where the federal government’s priorities lie, the PM rejects making tests free, saying pharmacy profits are vital – more important it seems than the health of ordinary Australians.
Freya Headlam, Glen Waverley

Who has the vision to take a worldwide view?
The pandemic was an opportunity for the governments of the world to pool their resources to examine the cause and find the best method of managing and quelling this worldwide challenge. Instead, we have opted for a blame game and influential countries opting for a me-first approach. By now the G9 countries could have empowered the World Health Organisation to create a plan to eradicate COVID-19. Can you imagine the WHO having jurisdiction to divert vaccinations to Third World countries to eliminate the likelihood of further mutations occurring? Can you imagine the best health experts being funded to create a central bank of knowledge that has the capacity to find a cure for this virus and the possibility of greater co-operation regarding other highly transmittable diseases?

Is there anybody willing to boldly create a vision to save us from years of worldwide health uncertainty?
Andrew Dowling, Torquay

THE FORUM

Costs and consequences
When Prime Minister Scott Morrison says that he won’t “undercut” businesses by funding free rapid antigen COVID-19 tests, and Chemist Warehouse director Mario Tascone refutes this by saying the tests should be made “as affordable as possible”, and that the GST on the product should be scrapped, it is blatantly obvious which stance will be supported by Australians given the prohibitive cost of these kits and the fact they are free in other countries, most notably the UK, US and New Zealand.
Eric Palm, Gympie, Qld

We’ll work it out
You don’t qualify for a PCR, you can’t find a pharmacy with a RAT, you are told not to call an ambulance or turn up at Emergency, and good luck getting the COVID hotline to answer. No problem Scotty, no need to pick up the hose or provide free RATs, we’ll work it out ourselves – at election time.
Claire Merry, Wantirna

Consider your vote
Lesley Hardcastle and Margaret Callinan (Letters, 3/1) draw to our attention what appears to be an insuperable issue. The moral choice is to vote for a party/person who proposes policies that are in the best interests of the community. However, as the 2019 election clearly showed, self interest, rather than community interest, was the basis on which a large number of voters decided their vote. Decisions that, in some instances, would have been based on scare campaigns, run by self-interest groups, such as the campaign against scrapping franking credits. Until those elected to govern stand by their policies, the introduction of a federal integrity commission for example, and until individuals can see beyond scare campaigns and self-interest and vote for what is best for the community, we will continue to be poorly governed. I urge voters to consider what is their own vision for our community and then assess the policies being presented on the basis of whether those policies will assist in achieving their vision, and vote accordingly.
Elise Callander, South Melbourne

Urgent call for action
Surely universities prompted by governments could reduce international student fees so that they could adequately feed themselves (“Uni students battling to survive”, The Age, 3/1). Will we ever in this country adopt a tertiary education system that charges students a universal basic fee such as in the EU so they can afford to adequately feed themselves? In the meantime, making arrangements for higher-fee-paying international students to have enough to eat on and off campus is an urgent call for action.
Henk van Leeuwen, Elwood

Respect our wildlife
Although the problem of roadkill is multifaceted, people can make a difference. Some people forgo outer-city and rural night driving because of the increased chance of hitting wildlife – the trauma, for all, isn’t worth the risk (“The horrible thud: What can we do to reduce roadkill”, The Age, 4/1). Wildlife-unsafe infrastructure doesn’t help. For example, wombats used to pass under roadside crash rails but are now blocked by an additional lower rail installed, supposedly, to decrease motorcyclist injuries. VicRoads undertaking to remove every third under-rail to permit wildlife egress hasn’t happened and the resultant wombat deaths and orphans are an outcome it ignores. Australia’s first and ancient inhabitants deserve more respect.
Lawrence Pope, Friends of Bats & Bushcare Inc.

New Year hopes
Being able to spend time with family at Christmas made me realise how fortunate I am and all I wanted was teeth for the following: a federal anti-corruption body; a government that protects its citizens from being extradited for political reasons; a group of so-called Christian schools that understands trauma and its effects and, therefore, treats staff and students with understanding and kindness and compassion; a government that maintains telehealth for rural communities where travel to health professionals is an added cost burden to illness; and, a government that stops torturing lawful asylum seekers in conditions worse than lockdown.
Alas, it has not happened. But, hope springs eternal in the human breast and so I look forward to New Year resolutions from our government and others.
Genevieve Leach, Carlton

Explanation required
As stated so eloquently by Dr Sarah Russell (Letters, 4/1) COVID-initiated lockdowns in aged care are causing much distress for residents and their families. My 93-year-old mother’s aged care home has been in lockdown for a week since a visitor revealed a positive test. There is confusion about what this isolation should entail. The federal government has overall responsibility for aged care – so why isn’t there a clear, consistent policy to provide some direction for aged care homes?

Or is it the role of the state government to provide guidance on public health matters? Would someone please sort it out? And explain it to my 93-year-old mother, because I cannot.
Sally Davis, Malvern East

The Pope’s clarion call
John Laurie (Letters, 3/1) makes the mistake many people do of assuming that everyone imagines “God” as male. As a feminist and activist for equality, I was more than happy to see that the Pope considers violence against women as an insult. It is, and should be called out as such. Violence insults our very humanity, regardless of a person’s faith or lack of it. Heaven forbid, the Pope may even believe that “God” is a woman or his spiritual leader and guide in a non-corporeal state.
Catherine Healy, Brighton

Clear messaging missing
Patrick McGorry is a wonderful advocate for all of us suffering mental health issues. He states (“COVID debate hits public morale”, The Age, 3/1) that political leaders are better placed to factor the wider needs of our society into their decision making, rather than just considering the infectious diseases outcomes.

This may be true for some politicians, if only they were actually considering the mental health of all citizens. I find this new trend to changing regulations with no clear messaging is lowering my morale. I feel that this “living with” COVID is chaotic and there is no end in sight.

A balanced approach may be needed and hope would be good, but with case numbers escalating every day, I’m finding it hard to be optimistic. Politicians are pandering to business which, ironically, is being affected by the growing case numbers, and a restless population wishing the whole damn situation would go away.
Clear messaging with no political barbs and a clear path forward might actually help our mental health.
Liz Aird, Princes Hill

Malaysia leads way
The Malaysian government has taken the right direction to subsidise about 80 per cent of rapid antigen test kits for its citizens. A test kit now costs just below $2. The clawback from profitable companies hoarding JobKeeper subsidies will more than pay for these test kits.
Peng Ee, Castle Cove, NSW

Numbers game
In the ’90s the Liberal government changed the definition of an unemployed person, which resulted in a decrease of those unemployed. Today, the Liberals are at it again, this time wanting to define a person in hospital with other conditions as well as COVID, not be counted as a COVID hospitalisation case. This, of course, would reduce the numbers of COVID patients in hospital and reduce scrutiny of the federal government’s failure to provide adequate funding to the hospital sector.

A person, no matter with what other conditions, who has COVID when entering hospital should be counted as a COVID case requiring special attention.
John Tingiri, Mornington

Don’t forget Africa
Andrew Hammond’s article regarding elections on “every continent”, failed to mention the world’s second-most-populous continent (“The year of voting dangerously”, The Age, 4/1). There are a number of important elections scheduled for Africa in 2022, in Kenya, Mali, Sudan, and Angola and many other countries. These elections will have regional and international consequences and should not be overlooked. Even a brief mention of African elections would have been better than completely ignoring the continent once again.
Stu O’Brien, St Kilda

Cracks widening
Josh Bornstein is spot on (“Pandemic amplifies brittle fault lines in society”, The Age, 3/1). How many times has a Coalition politician uttered the phrase “politics of envy” to swat away criticisms of their taxation and labour market policies which are generating a massive redistribution of wealth towards those who live off capital. The problem is that not only is our socio-economic profile moving closer to that of a banana republic but our social and economic infrastructure has been mismanaged for decades and will not cope with future demands without reform and public investment. The cracks may be glossed over by some political marketing and focus on the share and property booms but, without reform the economic state of most Australians may increasingly become the inverse of the bonanza for the rich.
Bill King, Camberwell

AND ANOTHER THING …

Rapid antigen tests
Perhaps Harvey Norman could pay for the nation’s rapid antigen tests with the profits made from JobKeeper payments.
Sue Currie, Northcote

Only one word for the roll out of the rapid antigen tests by the federal government. Shambolic!
Barry James, Lilydale

Good news – my pharmacy has no RATs but plenty of toilet paper!
Margaret Skeen, Point Lonsdale

Part of the Coalition’s $16 billion election war chest could provide quick COVID-19 test kits for free.
Malcolm McDonald, Burwood

By failing to provide free or subsidised rapid antigen tests Scott Morrison has just given the green light to scalpers.
Denis Evans, Coburg

Tax payers money should never be wasted on rapid antigen test kits for the hoi polloi. That sort of expenditure should be reserved for big business and needless JobKeeper payments.
Gary Sayer, Warrnambool

The UK and other countries get it. Many can’t afford RATs. What price public health, Prime Minister?
Jennie Irving, Camberwell

COVID-19
The full page article in The Age (4/1) on managing COVID at home could be summed up in one line – you’re on your own, baby!
Lee Guion, Portarlington

Now we know what “personal responsibility” means. You’re on your own and you pay!
Mick Hussey, Beaconsfield

It can’t be long before Scott and Josh represent businesses unable to fill shifts due to COVID-19 infection as an increase in job opportunities.
Dale Crisp, Brighton

Furthermore
An election looms. Frydenberg tries to scare us. The truth must prevail!
Ray Peck, Hawthorn

Will wasting money on Christmas cards actually buy Josh a single vote?
Ralph Frank, Malvern East

Ben Stokes is right. Why would you want to captain England?
Les Aisen, Elsternwick

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