We don’t have to choose between health or the economy in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. In fact,it has been shown time and time again that controlling disease transmission leads to better economic outcomes.
One of the reasons we have been so successful in navigating the pandemic is that we have listened to the experts in Australia.
There are many ways in which this episode has been handled badly,but perhaps the best characterisation of why it has been so unseemly is captured by Dennis Denuto,the lawyer in the movie The Castle – it’s been in the vibe of it all.
This seems like the worst of all possible times to host the Australian Open,but despite the high number of COVID-19 cases,there’s less reason to postpone the tournament than last year.
A major development in our emergence from the pandemic has been the announcement that the Pfizer vaccine has been provisionally approved for use in children aged five to 11 years.
We’re currently in the midst of one of the most challenging times during the pandemic in Australia. But until most of us are vaccinated,we can’t live with the virus.
The message of the government’s key advisory body on vaccines,ATAGI,is unclear as it grapples with competing concerns,considerable confusion and a changing landscape.
While accepting that we have a lot of work to do to halt this outbreak,we needn’t despair over what has occurred in Victoria.