Back in lockdown again.

[re-tyred]

Everyone can protest till they drop. The virus isn't listening.
If the government listens and opens up then there will be chaos in the hospital system. This is fact not opinion. We have seen it overseas. So when the hospitals are full of sick people from covid, out will come another bunch of protesters saying it's the government's fault. No winners here. The protests just help spread it. You all get to protest at the next election, just make sure you think long and hard about who you give the nod.

[DougieK]

This virus is the most divisive thing I can ever remember. People are so adamant that their views are gospel and anyone who disagrees are the devil. It’s amazing to see this unfold in Australia.

I've kept out of most of this discussion this time around, but this is a really really good point.

What you're seeing is the slow radicalisation of vulnerable people and the indoctrination into tribes. What happens is someone who is in some way compromised or exposed, and feels valueless finds solace and companionship by agreeing with some complete f-ing nonsense that any critical assessment could disprove, however the feeling they get finding people that agree with them and tell them they have value instead of just 'this is how it is, deal with it'.

This is how you get these weird martial arts cults where Master Wu waves his hands and 7 guys in front of him fall over before he's touched them.

This is also how you get the guy who works in the tackle shop absolutely convinced that a drug used for worming horses is somehow a better solution for Covid than getting vaccinated and staying home. There was a single -extremely- flawed study that was extremely poorly conceived that got picked up after the Trumpeters stopped spruiking HCQ. Once Invermectin goes away, there will be another one to replace it, and another one after that, and another one after that.

What Covid has done, well, more the government response to covid, is made vulnerable people more vulnerable, desperate people more desperate, and given power to a heap of this cult like behaviour because people simply feel no value, worthless, and forgotten. This has taken place while lining the pockets of the likes of Gerry Harvey through the intentionally exploitable Jobkeeper etc. Government programs like that, while helping, are simultaneously designed to benefit the wealthy few.

Making vulnerable people more vulnerable is NEVER a good solution to any societal issue. What's happening with these protests and assorted cultish nonsense is simply a case of desperate people finding anything to hang on to to feel like they have power. These people are then further exploited by people selling anti lockdown merch or crypto courses or whatever the hell it is this week.

Freedom without responsibility isn't freedom, it's power.

There is a book called 'Tribe' by Sebastian Junger that I'd highly recommend everybody reads

[Troy McLure]

As someone who hasn’t missed a day of work through all of this and is only deprived of fishing, golf and a steak restaurant I can only guess what large numbers of people are feeling now. So many people are doing it tough and can’t seem to see an end in sight because of a complete lack of clarity from our so called leaders. The place is a mess and I don’t blame people for jumping on either side of the fence on this. No leadership is allowing this to grow all over the country. People need/want a timeline on this which is consistent across all states and not the crap that is being served up by our leaders from all sides of politics. It’s beyond unbelievable.

[re-tyred]

Current time line for vacation is , it would take 7 months to vacs everyone at the current rate.
Personally I wouldn't look for a percentage completed. I would open up once everyone that wants it has had an opportunity to get.

[laneends]

I think the overall policy is now shifting to tying restriction relaxing timetable to vaccination % rather than case numbers. A realization that elimination is no longer achievable. Even in Vic, zero is gone, and would be fleeting if achieved. So I doubt state will 'open up" on 2 sept, maybe slight easing to minimize the economic bleeding, but thats all until we get 70%, it will also provide incentive to overcome any hesitation.

[hornet]

There is no time line, the time line rests with the population, time and again we have been asked to get vaccinated but it isn't getting through, like it or not a vaccination digital passport will be introduced, if you can't prove you have been vaxed your movements will be restricted, I've heard it's already in parts of Europe and America, no overseas travel and restrictions on what you can do or not do in Australia. Not to mention putting everyone else at risk you come in contact with. Me and the wife had the two shots it's no big deal.

[Truedogz]

This is what Toney Blakely is now saying:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-23/ ... n/13509596

He was on the radio this morning stating that we can expect five to ten thousand cases a day next year in Victoria. As to the reasons he stated the same ones in the previous link I provided. With vaccine protection the hospitalisations and deaths will be greatly reduced.

On a personal note I am under stay at home orders as I may have been exposed last week at work. Just waiting for the phone call whether I will be tier one isolating at home for 14 days or tier 2 can leave home after a negative test result.

Was due for my second jab this week.

Wild times, stay safe everyone.

[Truedogz]

Here is the other Blakely interview which is probably the better one as he gives more detail:

https://omny.fm/shows/mornings-with-nei ... emiologist

[4liters]

There is no time line, the time line rests with the population, time and again we have been asked to get vaccinated but it isn't getting through, like it or not a vaccination digital passport will be introduced, if you can't prove you have been vaxed your movements will be restricted, I've heard it's already in parts of Europe and America, no overseas travel and restrictions on what you can do or not do in Australia. Not to mention putting everyone else at risk you come in contact with. Me and the wife had the two shots it's no big deal.

There's no issue with people wanting to be vaccinated, the issue is supply. A place in South Australia opened up 2 weeks of pfizer bookings and they were gone in less than half an hour.

There's a lot more AstraZenica hesitancy than vaccine hesitancy, give people the juice they trust and they'll take it.

[4liters]

I think the overall policy is now shifting to tying restriction relaxing timetable to vaccination % rather than case numbers. A realization that elimination is no longer achievable. Even in Vic, zero is gone, and would be fleeting if achieved. So I doubt state will 'open up" on 2 sept, maybe slight easing to minimize the economic bleeding, but thats all until we get 70%, it will also provide incentive to overcome any hesitation.

They keep talking about their 70-80% targets but there's going to be a lot of people who haven't had access to the vaccine when we reach those points - kids, Aboriginal communities, and so on. Disabled people were supposed to be a priority group and they're still rolling it out to them 6 months later.

It's a bit of a spit in the face of the notion of a fair go if people in the capital cities and larger towns are given a chance to get it but everyone else is told tough luck.

At least the state government has prioritised the vaccination of kids from grade 6 and up, hopefully they all get the shot before we reach the threshold for letting it rip. Covid is one of the leading causes of death in kids in the US, and who knows what long term effects it will have on kids given the random assortment of organ damage that tends to turn up in survivors.