As with global warming, scientists have long been warning that global health threats would emerge more often and spread more quickly and take more lives.
COVID-19 and its variants are demonstrating the stark reality of those warnings. Both climate change and the spread of infectious diseases are linked and represent primary existential threats.
As Australia and New Zealand have demonstrated, no island, no country can isolate itself from these threats by simply closing its borders. Addressing both global warming and the health crisis requires a fundamental reset of our policies, not merely adjustment.
The nation ended 2021 with surging Covid-19 cases and deaths.
Other than a policy of incremental reopening, the messaging from the Ministry of Health has not changed to address the changing conditions. The press conferences have lost their effectiveness as a communication tool to change behaviours. Judging by what is repeated on social media, the public focuses on two numbers: how many new cases, how many new deaths.
Also, there seems to be a hardening of positions around constitutional rights and freedoms by the uniformed services and the trade unions. What is next?
This is the third year of the pandemic and new waves of infection will come. The vaccination programme has been based solely on government outreach. The sharp rise in the death toll over the last six weeks demonstrates the failure of that policy. The medical front line, the general practitioners and purveyors of family medicine have been ignored. Why? Wouldn’t the vaccine-hesitant be more open to persuasion by those who normally provide their health care needs? Shouldn’t the messaging be expanded to incorporate an emphasis on healthier lifestyles and diet rather than stressing the impact on those with comorbidities? A carrot and not a stick?
This is a time for action and a whole of government approach rather than a confused approach as evidenced by the inability or unwillingness to differentiate between a party boat and a floating restaurant. Dealing with health care and the economy requires a sense of urgency and a deft touch. The communication must also improve in tonal quality and content.
The economy has been depressed for six years. The purchasing power of the ordinary citizen has declined, and a new round of imported inflation threatens. The priorities for 2022 have already announced themselves. The first is to strengthen the health care system in all its facets to deal with the pandemic and its repercussions. The second is to address the economic challenges. The third is to determine the number of households that fall below the poverty line and recalibrate the social policies to address the deficit. Fourth, remedial education and learning must be started if we are to save the coming generation of citizens.
None of these challenges can be solved in one year. But the steps can be articulated, the changes implemented, and the communication process improved in 2022.