When They Pushed Too Far

 

I reckon it is instinctive in each of us to be cautious about booster vaccination shots.  Each of us has our own unique circumstances and attitudes about protection waning, our own level of body T cells, authorities mucking up on over or under supplies, what we face in the intensity or complexity of political agendas we face and the varying level of  Delta cases occurring where we normally interact.

It can be complex, but I also take more comfort in our own immunity building ability and use of our own intelligence and common sense - can any human body keep up with being injected so often as we have been asked to?

I believe more in good ventilation outdoors, coughing or sneezing into our elbows and having good physical exercise plus nutrition, instead of getting addicted to vaccines and vaccine cross information from governments and media. 

Blog 18th Anniversary - Covid 19 Times

 

Many significant matters in our personal lives, and that of the world, seem and are at the same time put on hold, as if in a freeze-frame of photography -  as media, politicians and commercial medical providers overcrowd our attention to a virus we cannot even see.

And in the rising din, underlying panic and ever changing positions generated by various parties in this on going circus, of how to best manage this c19, it seems to me that things can just be plucked from the air and covert intentions not fully disclosed to the public.  There can be too much talk and too little meaningful action which brings results.  Politicians change their directions increasingly to serve their survival, rather than the health of their voters.  Medical bureaucrats can be under unstated pressure by the powers that employ them.  There are increased concerns in the militarisation of the public management of this Coronavirus. 

The connundrum between choosing lockdowns or vaccinations is the latest dilemna faced by governments.   Are vaccinations encouraged with creating a false positive sentiment as elections draw near?   Why has there been no progress and communication by Big Pharmas in developing a treatment for c19?   Canberra has made serious mistakes in over depending on only two types of vaccines - and looks like only going to over rely on Messenger RNa vaccines in the future. 

Several nations are beginning to stare c19 in the face, as they cannot maintain a zero tolerance approach in snuffing out c19.  Movement restriction, if continued for too long, is increasingly impractical.

Individually, each of us has to grab the proverbial bull by the horn and tame the beast .  For around 18 months, no reassuring results have been achieved by those who rule us - if this was a Board and senior executive of a listed conpany, they all would been sacked at an extraordinary General Meeting.

How I cope is to follow and implement the four principles of self preservation and personal development.

P - Presence of positive spirit and mind is always good to be conscious of and practice.

A - Agendas, good and bad, are to be discerned between the lines, exhortations and varying policies we are put up with.

I  - Intelligence, not Inoculations, is the primary tool we possess to counter this Delta spread.

N - Negativity is to be avoided, so that we can maintain our own clarity and purpose in our journey amidst distractions, deflections and devastation.

Oscar Wilde is reputedly quoted with " Suffering is nothing, when there is love."

The suffering imposed on each of us, in this challenging time, can not be accompanied with empathy, humaneness nor concern by the people and organisations we put in power to take care of us.

So I say, "Suffering is nothing, especially when we just take more care of ourselves."

And I am no Oscar Wilde.

#yongkevthoughts

Calling for a Rethink

 

Since Covid management began, with all its downstream implications for labour availability, logistics supply and customer service, everyone has come across disruptions in accessibility.

The rise of contactless transactions has encouraged scenarios where and when we receive no or little explanations for problems and poor service - and the frequent feeling that we just have to take it on the chin.

In Australia, the  occurence of confronting climate disasters has coincided with the downside of Covid management since 2020.  As a nation, we over depend on manufactured stuff mostly from overseas.
Although we have sufficient food production security, the society has only a few weeks of fuel supplies.  Over reliance on visitor and migrant labour for harvests also meant a  crisis when borders were shut down for months on end to minimise the spread of the Covid in 2020 and 2021 - but in 2022 most Covid infections spread like wildfire within domestic confines.

Lettuce is now down to one dollar from 12 dollars each in my local fresh produce markets, while bananas have risen in price per kilo.  The swings in supply and pricing seem to jump from one basic product to another.  They just amplify the vulnerabilities already existing in the way basic necessities are produced, acquired and brought to the ultimate consumer - and some of the causes and effects have nothing to do with Covid.

Many of the things we utilise and take for granted are distributed and controlled by duopolies - the serious lack of competition in business will undermine the quality and standard of life and economy for Australia in the years to come.

We also have too few big players in the banking, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, food retail, insurance, power utility, transport, infrastructure, media and airline sectors.  That virtually covers many requirements in our daily lives.

These really big players are becoming too big to fail and more of society's taxpayer monies are being fed to them.  The extent of choice for consumers continue to narrow. 

Federal government in Canberra has significantly outsourced services to commercial providers, consulting groups and grant recipients in aged care, education, national strategic processes and vital areas previously handled by a supposedly more benign hand of elected governance.

How the best interests of Australian individuals, communities and society are best handled by profit seeking market players give rise to serious questions.

So when society and her denizens continue to be fed and addicted to obvious negatives, it gets even harder to break the cause and effect cycle. Reflect on the push for opiods in the intricate web experienced by the USA.   Think of the continuing promotion of excess consumption of sugar, gambling, wifi and other dependencies.

The continuing Covid years on the other hand have awakened a level of personal and group consciousness as to how our society, economy and personal reflection can be better.

#yongkevthoughts

A Reflection Along the Way

 

Omicron infections are spiking in Malaysia and Singapore.

The experience of Sydney since December 2021, where the state governmemt has fast let virtually all restrictions removed and the spread go rip throughout the community, suggests some salient matters.

Each individual has his or her own unique risk circumstances and parameters.

Although most Omicron infections seem to only cause milder symptoms than Delta, there is a risk of long Covid, whether one is vaccinated or not.

The nsw state premier and Aus PM have pushed it to self responsibility for managing any covid infections, at most since December 2021.

Public and political management of covid can have powerful hidden agendas.

Self prevention of infection remains the most consistent weapon for individuals.  Omicron transmission is said to occur through both hangabout air and infected surfaces.

Several side effects of Covid vaccines are not highlighted by mainstream media and governments. It can be the luck of the draw when one does not react adversely to the different typres of vaccinations.

If you reckon you have been in a high infection risk area, practically self check any ensuing symptoms. Continue to build and maintain your natural or personal immunity level and enjoy lots of fresh ventilation indoors and outdoors.

Be conscious of where covid enters the body - mainly through the nostrils and throat.

There can be more mutated strains after Omicron.  No authority fully knows the next path of covid.  Mistakes in covid management can be repeated or avoided in the future.

All each of us can do best is to exercise mindful practicality, to synchronise with your life patterns. Prepare for different scenarios of how covid can act out in 2022.

#yongkevthoughts

The Irony and The Obvious

 There is a growing irony when you live under a government that wants the public to embrace Covid.

Busibess venues are open but customers are more reluctant to use them.

Business venues are open but there are not enough stocks and staff available to viably keep them open.

We are free to travel but subject to a whole host of procedures that restrict our other freedoms.

We have minimal restrictions compared to days of lockdowns, travel permits and border closures- but we find ourselves more willing to stay home and observe what the heck is actually happening with the C and its implications.

We are told to test, when we have symptoms, but it is getting more challenging to be tested.

If the Omicron has less severity, then why are we still pushed to continue to test and get more vaccine jabs?

Governments can tell us to ride the wave over significant spikes in new mutations of C.  If we get infected, we are however told mostly to treat ourselves with painkillers - and not to bother with a medical and hospital system that increasingly cannot cope with increased demand.

If governments want us to comply with some new or changing rule, they have to ensure  the related infrastructure, supplies and personnel are sufficient to allow us to implement the requitements.

If various vaccinations for C are to be fully working, governments must not relentlessly use this option as the only option.

Governments cannot resort to redefinitions of C related parameters, without properly balancing the requirements of science, public health, the economy and mental health of society.

Withholding information or data suggests that governments have something serious to hide.

After 2 years of C, we are not as interested in daily figures of infections as in what key steps the government is taking to further reduce those figures.

The public needs more encouragement, wisdom snd truth from authorities rather than fear, blame shifting and excuses.

Prevention and proactivity is still so much better than reaction and panic.

And so this is Christmas Again

 

For two years, we have complied.

We took it on the chin, limiting ourselves to the kilometre distance pronounced by authorities.  We got used to face mask, even when we instinctively knew we did not breathe normally when wearing them.

We made our hands dehydrated so often when we were asked to daily use hand sanitiser.

People who went on the ship cruise of their life time came home to die of infections caught aboard the high seas.  Elderly people in commercially run aged care facilities -  and crowded economically challenged households - were sitting ducks as well.

So many lost their livelihoods and incomes, while those who imposed public policy on the masses continued to have their pay packages protected.

Small businesses and retail had to close, earning pittance in suburbs all over, like through takeaways.  The big commercial players in town prospered as discretionary monies were over spent on groceries, homewares and online purchases, to name a few.

Taxpayer monies are said to subsidise more of multinational companies than the battler and struggling families in this Great Southern Land.

Family members and friends were separated, at times inhumanely, when celebrities and those with political connections were given exemptions in travel bans, compulsory quarantines and not touching each other.  It was becoming clear there was one rule for the privileged - and another for the rest.

We were told repeatedly that the advice of the science was always taken, but told to us so often, it was increasingly obvious it was not.  Medical people seemed to revolt but they were then managed.

Commercial hotels are not fit purposed as medivac venues in the centre of large cities.  Alpha and Delta breached whatever protocol that was practised in reality.

Christmas 2020 was a dog's breakfast of border controls, cancelled bookings, emerging red zone hotspots, arbitrary and egoistic decision making by the powers that are - plus lots of reactive ineffective measures after the enemy came in and was allowed to romp through the ripe greenfields for infection.

Frontliners became exhausted, discouraged, uninspired and/ or infected.  Protestors were manhandled and criticised.

Most of us were not allowed to go overseas, unless you got approval from travel exemption permits made at the discretion of Canberra.

Delta arrived in mid 2021 and struck cruelly across western Sydney - and Walgett in western NSW, with its large indigenous Australian community - when given ten days of permission to roam from Bondi.

Most of us hunkered down for lockdown till early October 2021, when we were told the saviour of vaccinations would sufficiently protect us.

Delta escaped from the gold standard contact tracing city of Sydney to Melbourne and Adelaide during the winter of our discontent in the Antipodes.

It was then early December 2021.  Omicron had invaded for a few weeks now - and now most of the movement restrictions, which we complied with faithfully for such a long time, were gone.  It is claimed most of the population has been double jabbed and can rest easy and feel protected on this achievement.

Yet in the days leading to Christmas this year, there has been a significant spike of infections, especially in the very state with the most movement freedoms.  We are next asked to take booster shots of vaccinations whose viability cannot be questioned.

Then someone blinks - and we are asked to face mask, observe two metre rules at public indoor hospitality venues and QR code again - and reminded to take the onus of self responsibility going forward.  

We were told long ago now about the gold standard of contact tracing.  When that collapsed mid year 2021, exposure sites were no longer publicly listed but we were still encouraged to test and test.

When Omicron arrived, we are no longer told clearly if new daily cases are Delta or Omicron.

We are now reprimanded to not go for PCR testing if we do not have symptoms, contrary to the encouragement to do so a few months ago.  It is emerging that resources and personnel are not sufficient to handle the demands on particular days.

We are now urged to live with that thing, reminded that everyone will eventually be infected and we are to just go out to spend money for the economy.  Why were we not told this earlier, especially having been put through the wringer of severe lockdowns, negative mental health and forced physical restrictions?

Somehow there is a trail of things seemingly made up along the way, or a strong gut feel that someone somewhere every time does not have any solid idea about this matter.  Or maybe it is all playing out to a predetermined script in some playbook only held and known by a few.

My jabbed arm is so sore.   I do not know what or whom to believe anymore.  I am going to deeply kiss in public after the NYE fireworks at Sydney Harbour - then line up for a test, feel compassion for our overworked frontline workers and do not trust the texted message of my test results, which can be incorrect (refer to the news of how SydPath pathology at St Vincents Hospital, Darlinghurst, east Sydney, first provided incorrect negative results to 400 persons when they are really Covid positive).

I am going to take self responsibility.  I make my own health risk assessment in being mindful or careless about the whole matter.  I will relish fresh ventilation and see politics behind every public health pronouncement.  I will self manage by using my own intelligence.  I will not be a plaything of Big Pharma, control freaks and snake oil salesmen.

#yongkevthoughts

The Arrival of Omicron

With the arrival of another C19 mutation, Omicron, it looks like an increasing case of deja vu. Flight arrivals from the first hotspot nations are banned. There is a dearth of knowledge amongst experts, bureaucrats and politicians on how a new mutation will play out. Infections are confirmed amongst individuals who arrived from hotspot nations, but they arrived before any arrival bans. Such individuals had total freedom of movement when they visited what are now called exposure spots in the local community, before feeling unwell and testing positive. Will there be breaches at the control points of disembarkation and quarantine accommodation? Citizens and PRs of destination countries, coming from hotspot nations, are isolated for 14 days after arrival, but we are no longer told where exactly they are quarantined. The word "hotels" is no longer mentioned. The playbook in response by authorities looks amazingly familiar. After two years, there are seemingly no new ideas, except perhaps to take comfort in a high population percentage who have offered to be jabbed seemingly three times within 12 months. The first reaction upon hearing the arrival of Omicron is to promote booster shots. The difference this time, is significantly, that most nations tell their denizens that they have to live with the Coronavirus, so that the economy can bounce back. Even when air travel is opened up more than ever, the range of process just to get on a commercial aircraft to a foreign destination and return to the home country - testing, insurance and more - can be a most inconvenient one. The biggest challenge to us as individuals is the potential growth in uncertainty, just when our mindsets and expectations have moved to more certainty. Not again! is my first thought. Once the proverbial cockroach breaches our international border sentries, authorities have to decide whether the old regime of mass testing, varying levels of lockdowns, scanning QR codes, face masking, ensuring social distancing, hospitalisations and the lot - are back in force, or do they have to come up with more innovative approaches? Unsavoury authorities can still continue to hide behind the excuse of Omicron to implement more of their dark agendas - hopefully not. Are we facing a scenario of accepting more infections, downplaying specific risks, allowing more personal freedoms and deemphasising the collateral damage to society and individuals? The arrival of Omicron and the intent of many governments to want us to learn to live with Delta and any future mutations, now dovetails to a critical stage. Not enough is known about Omicron today, so will it fizzle out to nothing or will it step up the complexity for us and our rulers? #yongkevthoughts

October 2021 - Singapore Embraces Covid

 

In transition between different and significant approaches in managing Covid, Singapore is at the cross roads. The journey so far for Europe is swinging from lockdowns to freedom and now back to lockdowns. No economy can endure lockdowns on and off, especially for one like Singapore, but the question is "at what price?". Here are key quotes from a televised address by the Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien-loong, to his nation on 3 October 2021. "Singapore cannot stay locked down indefinitely." "We are shifting to home recovery" "No more complicated flow charts." "Knowing what to do makes Covid not a scary disease." "Sooner or later, everyone of us will meet the virus." "Keeping connected to supply chains will help ensure Singapore's hub status." "We must ensure for Singapore's health systen and health workers, which is our last line of defence." "We must be our nation's first line of defence, to help protect our health system." "We may yet have to tap on the brakes, in order not to free up too fast." "How will we know when we have arrived at the New Normal?"

We Need Less Uncertainty and More Proactive Action

What each of us, and our society, business and mental health needs most of all, is more certainty - all across the world. The way public health and epidemic control, in the past 2 years or so, has been handled can be abrupt, heavy handed and with lack of adequate communication with all stakeholders. Authorities swing their power to impose measures, likely using fear as an unnecessary tool or having unrevealed agendas behind the methods or plans utilised. Delta is not to be underestimated, but at the same time, it must not be manipulated for other purposes. Politicians and "the science" may have to work in a kind of knowledge vacuum, but that does not mean always taking a stare down approach. The public deserves more sincerity from our elected officials, who cannot just issue cherry picked information, but should be more open on what challenges there are in unknowns. Beware, in whatever pathway is offered, it is prudent to have a back up plan. The jarring way in which the powers that be, seem to react, instead of better planning ahead for more than one option, can be concerning. Delta, the varying performance of vaccinations, the lack of capability for the worst scenario....they can throw huge spanners in the works. Our authorities also need to take more heed of how Delta - and new mutated strains - can still create havoc, despite a city having high rates of vaccination roll out. There seems to be less open discussion about vaccinations than Covid itself. We need not repeat mistakes of others - cities and nations can learn from each other. There is often a lack of resources, staffing and infrastructure available, when not planning ahead for a variety of scenarios and outcomes. With an epidemic, what learned institutions, sitting politicians and quoted modeling say may not eventuate. Another risk is that political priorities, in any country or society put under the cloud of Delta, can still be more important than the application of common sense. The other huge concern is that in whatever pathway we are offered, government tends to pronounce broad strokes, without paying enough attention to implementation details - and keep allowing exemptions to what they want us to comply with. And the other often unsaid danger is to hype up the expectations of voters, without realistic outcomes. How many times have we been promised more travel bubbles, urged to pay for airline tickets months in advance and told to book for holidays?

Questions Remaining re Covid management by Authorities

After around 2 years of Covid, there can be nothing like prevention at first level by face masking, minimising hanging out at places with poor ventilation and exercising more of our personal intelligence and mindfulness.

Vaccinations are at best defensive measures after viral invasions get out of control. They are said to sustain a high level of antibodies in our physical make up to fight Covid.

The world's populations have already worn face masks during the Spanish flu, SARs, plagues etc. Covid vaccinations can still be immature in their development - the rate at which authorities push such vaccinations, even if kosher, can be alarming. Successful vaccinations we take in the past are usually annually taken, not so often within a year.

Emphasis on producing anti viral medicine for Covid seems to be at a lesser pace.

There is also a lack of focus on the usefulness of our memory T cells in our own bodies to naturally fight Covid.

Every excuse can be given by authorities across the world on the varying performance of current Covid vaccinations. These are my observations, but I do not know what stand to take anymore.

China still takes more of an elimination stand against Covid, while at the same time achieving high vaccination rates. Western societies have hyped up the protective powers of vaccinations as the reason for opening up the economy and loosening movement restrictions - and yet cases are significantly spiking again across Europe. India has not achieved the high rates of vaccinations touted as manna by many governments - and yet has not suffered as many infections per capita of population.

Several societies have been told that Covid, in whatever form, Delta strain or other mutants, must now be embraced as endemic - we are encouraged to live with it. Then why are bureaucrats still counting and reporting new daily cases of Covid?

If the common flu is accepted as endemic, we do not get such scrutiny of infection numbers for this viral spread.

Yet intense testing regimes for endemic Covid are carried out on international air travellers - and close contacts of confirmed infectees at exposure sites are required to isolate.

When various types of Covid vaccinations do not deliver what is promised as outcomes, the onus of responsibility is often pushed to the populace - we did not have our booster shots, we have various underlying health conditions, we are vaccine hesitant, new infections are affecting the unvaccinated, etc.

Very rare are the Big Pharmas questioned in mainstream media and by governments about the performance of vaccinations and the viability of their official testing data.

PAIN as attitude

Many significant matters in our personal lives, and that of the world, seem and are at the same time put on hold, as if in a freeze-frame of photography - as media, politicians and commercial medical providers overcrowd our attention to a virus we cannot even see. And in the rising din, underlying panic and ever changing positions generated by various parties in this on going circus, of how to best manage this c19, it seems to me that things can just be plucked from the air and covert intentions not fully disclosed to the public. There can be too much talk and too little meaningful action which brings results. Politicians change their directions increasingly to serve their survival, rather than the health of their voters. Medical bureaucrats can be under unstated pressure by the powers that employ them. There are increased concerns in the militarisation of the public management of this Coronavirus. The connundrum between choosing lockdowns or vaccinations is the latest dilemna faced by governments. Are vaccinations encouraged with creating a false positive sentiment as elections draw near? Why has there been no progress and communication by Big Pharmas in developing a treatment for c19? Canberra has made serious mistakes in over depending on only two types of vaccines - and looks like only going to over rely on Messenger RNa vaccines in the future. Several nations are beginning to stare c19 in the face, as they cannot maintain a zero tolerance approach in snuffing out c19. Movement restriction, if continued for too long, is increasingly impractical. Individually, each of us has to grab the proverbial bull by the horn and tame the beast . For around 18 months, no reassuring results have been achieved by those who rule us - if this was a Board and senior executive of a listed conpany, they all would been sacked at an extraordinary General Meeting. How I cope is to follow and implement the four principles of self preservation and personal development. P - Presence of positive spirit and mind is always good to be conscious of and practice. A - Agendas, good and bad, are to be discerned between the lines, exhortations and varying policies we are put up with. I - Intelligence, not Inoculations, is the primary tool we possess to counter this Delta spread. N - Negativity is to be avoided, so that we can maintain our own clarity and purpose in our journey amidst distractions, deflections and devastation. Oscar Wilde is reputedly quoted with " Suffering is nothing, when there is love." The suffering imposed on each of us, in this challenging time, is not accompanied with sufficient empathy, humaneness nor concern by the people and organisations we put in power to take care of us. So I say, "Suffering is nothing, especially when we just take more care of ourselves." And I am no Oscar Wilde. #yongkevthoughts

Malaysia - Serious Covid 19 Wave

I deeply pray that the escalating spread of Covid 19 in Malaysia is better controlled, overcome and resolved. However, how can members of the public better protect and manage themselves, should the epidemic escalate? The public and private hospital system can go into operational chaos and rupture, buckling by the sheer numbers of patients. Are managers of such facilities already preparing, securing vital equipment and supplies, while also revamping their work processes, retraining their staff and enhancing their business continuity plans? Foreign governments can impose tighter restrictions on movement of individuals who have been in Malaysia. For Malaysian nationals overseas, they may have to delay their return to their home country. The higher education sector around the world and in Malaysia itself has vested interests already shaken up in 2020 - and a serious rampage of Covid 19 within the nation itself can make things worse. If the public health scenario deteriorates in Malaysia, neighbouring Singapore faces a double edged sword of consequences. The island republic has served admirably well as a refuge from turmoil. What is different now are the higher risks of infection for a well developed island that is only separated by two causeways from the Malaysian peninsular. This has manifestations in the procurement of supplies, trade, political relationships, shipping and transport management. At the same time, Singapore's attraction as a beacon for investment, financial stability, reliable governance and an excellent medical services hub can be enhanced. Will some nations rush to help the Malaysian people and government in such a time of need? The UK, EU, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore are most likely to help. What about the able Islamic fellowship nations and members of ASEAN? The Federation of Malaysia also poses unique angles of management, as it is separated by the South China Sea into two geographical areas. Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, has recently experienced a spike of new Covid 19 cases each day - and so have Selangor, Johor and Kelantan sited on the Peninsular. Will the varying political treatment of each state by the central government play into the effectiveness of helping out the common person on the street, caught up in the ugliness and confusion of an epidemic? Are there sufficient supplies already available of testing kits, vaccinations and numerous items required in anciallary medical services? There is also a risk in heightening racial, religious, cultural and social sensitivities during a period of a health crisis. The social demographics are another spanner in the works, as already experienced before Covid 19 arrived. Earlier waves of Covid 19 affected specific groups of Malaysians, but the recent outbreaks have become more pervasive and embracing. Will there be sufficient leadership and innovative approaches to curtail the relentless spread of this Coronavirus as soon as possible? A strong infection wave will also further weaken the economic and financial structure of a country that depends on investment growth, exports, tourism, agriculture and petroleum resources. Malaysia plays a smaller role than India in providing call centres and corporate accounting support, but can have its reliability damaged in such services with a Covid epidemic. The durian plantations have already suffered with curbs on international border entry, collapse of tourism and restrictions on air travel in the past 15 months. What is next? 7 May 2021 #yongkevthoughts

Exceptions for the Privileged Few

Our international borders have been declared officially closed since March 2020. However, more than 14000 Australians have reportedly left the country, more than once, since Covid 19 arrived. These include military, diplomats, government officials, people seeking medical assistance and other categories. They have all been given exemptions by the Federal Government. I am more interested in the detail of the other categories. This is for a national population of around 25 million. So around 0.00056 per cent have been granted permissions to leave more than once. Often, it is not the statistical percentage that counts, but the reasons why and how. Voters lose faith in government policies when exceptions are allowed without a reasonable explanation. The majority of Australians have been compliant, restricting their personal movements, mostly within their states. Even the media around the world has remarked how compliant most Aussies have been since 2020, breaking our previous track record as often going walkabout, driving long distances and as frequent backpackers overseas per capita of population. Domestically in Australia, many individuals have just put up with a stiff upper lip, bit their tongue and kicked their heels in, while not being able to physically see their loved ones, mostly interstate, even for significant life events, delaying weddings, medical procedures and more. Go figure. #yongkevthoughts

Covid 19, June 2021

Are there lessons for Australia? If any government does not effectively manage the breach point of Covid 19 entering into their country, the risks of whatever numbered infectious waves remain. The international borders of Australia have been officially closed since March 2020. Breach entry points to me possibly encompass aircraft crew, returned citizens and permanent residents, travel ban exempted personalities like politicians, diplomats and celebrities with connections, so called essential personnel and exceptions decreed by bureaucrats and governments as if Covid 19 can recognise and do not touch them. The management of such breach point groups must be improved. It is the self entitled wiring in the brains and egos of our decision makers which actually provide the greatest public health management risks for any of us, who are mostly complying with rules as pronounced by our respective state and Federal governments. For Australia, the track record of cross infections of Covid 19 in quarantine hotels and facilities - and occasional leakages into local transmission cases - is rather concerning, after all these months. #yongkevthoughts

Observations on Covid Vaccines

1. Cross infection of Covid has occured before in quarantine hotels in Sydney and Melbourne - when will authorities learn? 2. Covid infected people can show no symptoms until later in the course of the infection. 3. There is no clarity that Covid vaccinated people cannot get infected, only show no or less symptoms of Covid. I reflect - I still can get infected with the common cold even after getting my dose of the related vaccine. 4. Covid contact tracing can be a useful tool, but can trigger sudden lockdowns, border restrictions and a flurry of more testing in Australian states. 5. Travellers can be caught in ensuing logistical consequences if they find themselves on the wrong side of Australian state borders. 6. The long term side effects, if any, of Covid vaccines are still unknown and yet to play out. Any so called medical or scientific interference with our human bodies take a longer time than these current crop of covid vaccines to be tested. So called "medical experts", bless them, have kept changing their advice and opinions on Covid since the pandemic began. 7. Covid vaccines started to be given out in desperation by governments unable to control the infection spread of Covid - and the need to revive the economy, air travel and consumer spending. 8. No liability is given by the Big Pharmas to us as their vaccines are approved by governments under emergency conditions. In Australia, Sco Mo has committed overly to Astra Zeneca vaccines and now seem to be pushing strongly to use millions of such dosages asap. 8. Governments and medical bureaucrats talk of weighing risks vs benefits of using the vaccines, but they may not be referring to our personal risks. 9. Any successful version of vaccines used in the past against a variety of diseases required a minimum of 5 years to mature. Our current arsenal of Covid vaccines require on going modification to tackle new and mutated strains. 10. Vaccine versions work best after the end of an outbreak, not during the course of a pandemic. The latter versions of vaccines do better manage any evolving mutations and strains of Coronavirus. 11. It can be a hard personal call and judgement to decide taking up these current Covid vaccines - preexisting health issues, our lifestyle exposure, whether we are on the frontline mixing with crowds everyday, whether our government restricts our movements if we are not vaccinated, whether we have Covid vulnerable people in our household, whether Covid infections are spreading in our community, etc. 12. At this stage, I would wait and monitor, never say never, never say yes immediately, we keep on thinking for ourselves. 13. And I am one who has been taking the well tried common cold flu jab every year, but more hesitant about the Covid vaccines. #yongkevthoughts

Sixteen Months On

 

I remember for many weeks after Covid arrived on our shores in 2020, Aussies were advised it was not necessary to wear face masks by the leading medical bureaucrats and elected political leaders in Canberra.

The same people were stating it was okay to receive Astra Zeneca anti-Covid vaccines as recently as the first week of April 2021.  Now they have changed their minds.

For many months, both State and Federal leaders in Australia have regularly sought refuge in their repeated statements "according to our best medical advice" .

The public by now cannot be that patient with possible wool pulled over our eyes.  Changing positions on significant Covid related matters by our medical and political "leaders" can undermine our long suffering patience, trust and belief in their varying pronouncements.

There was wavering uncertainty on how the Coronavirus spreads from human to human - aerosal spray projectiles or they remaining on surfaces?

As Covid 19 raged through our Earth, it is evident that authorities in various nations are not sure of several perspectives in controlling this pandemic, or of how the Coronavirus will do next, or of how far the selected vaccines can mitigate this problem.

It will be refreshing if authorities tell us they do not  really know or not sure - and we will respect them for this.

Currently available anti-Covid vaccines promise minimising the risks  of having symptoms of Covid, but do not mean those vaccinated cannot still catch the infection. 

If the push for mass vaccination is to build up effective herd immunity for society, such vaccination roll outs must occur within a short frame of time and the percentage of completed jabs must reach a majority of the population.  Any reasons for a much delayed process in completing target vaccinations reduce the chances of achieving such herd immunity.
Herd immunity to me is just the Coronavirus no longer finding sufficient human hosts to replicate, a necessary step in our battle with Covid 19.

The public will appreciate that economy, business and financial activity is paramount, along efforts to minimise the spread of Covid 19.
However, vaccinations are not manna to resolve the matter - they are only one of a set of mindful measures still required to be practised by vaccinated people, like social distancing and face mask wearing in crowds, plus the simple practice of washing hands when coming home.

Even when I receive my annual common flu jab, I accept that I can still catch this kind of cold, only with lowered risks, but I am aware that I can still spread the flu to others who are in close contact with me. So I am mindful to sneeze in the small of my left elbow.

In our so called tolerant society, we also respect individuals who, for various reasons, choose not to be vaccinated.  There can be a disturbing trend when governments impose restrictions in movements for those not vaccinated, like not being able to fly, join in certain community activities or enter selected venues.  People who are vaccinated or not vaccinated can all still be infected with Covid 19 and be infectious.

Most of the anti-Covid vaccinations available today require two doses.  This points to an urgent need in Australia (as opposed to the UK) to improve the process of mass vaccinating people as encouraged by the government.

Yet we cannot deny that the science and technology of most of these vaccines are new.  These vaccines have been introduced under emergency health conditions - and not being subject to longer due diligence periods.

Covid 19 will continue to mutate its strains - just like for the common flu, I require an upgraded vaccine every year to counter this development.

Governments must emphasise improving the mass jabbing procedures for Covid 19 on a timely basis if it is required to be carried out every year.

Maybe future anti-Covid vaccinations can be intranasal or oral instead of getting the conventional shot in the arm.

Finally I have a lingering unanswered question - how did the so called Spanish Flu virus die out, even with no applicable vaccines?

#yongkevthoughts

Musings about Controlling Covid - Australia January 2021

 

It is now the fourth wave of Covid spread in Sydney.
Once Covid leaks through from overseas arrivals on plane or ship to the local community, it is harder to contain, without hitting hard and early on focused movement restrictions for an interim period.

Once Covid reappears in the local community, better mental health is attained by confident and reassuring measures to stop its spread, much better than attending the much respected cricket games.

The risks of Covid spreading from the latest Avalon, Croydon and Berala clusters can impact on inadequate infrastructure and resources to optimally manage further infection break outs beyond the borders of the Sydney Basin.

In almost 4 weeks since the reporting of the Avalon cluster in Sydney's northern beaches, around 270 exposure sites have been traced for NSW and another hundred in Victoria - and counting.

Despite this reality, the free movement of people continues, even when for NSW residents, up to 200 infections have been identified in the state since the middle of December 2020.

In contrast, Hebei Province was totally locked down with severe movement restrictions immediately, after a lesser number of infections occured this past week in a city in its south.

The Queensland state government today declared a three day severe lockdown for a defined area of Brisbane and selected suburbs (instead of blanketing other non-relevant areas)  from 6pm their time, just after a quarantine hotel cleaner was confirmed to have contracted the rather more infectious UK mutated strain of Covid.

Most Australian states have imposed hard border controls to prevent NSW residents from coming, perhaps echoing their serious concerns on how relaxed the NSW government has been reacting to Covid cases and its spread in its own backyard.

A swift and strict lockdown for a short period can be more effective to dispel uncertainty than an approach wavering on varying daily case figures.

Contact tracing and extensive testing are only ways of managing public health after the Covid has bolted in.

Prevention is best, by stopping leakages. It is effective to stop overseas arrivals, especially on a temporary basis, emphatically in view of much more infectious versions of Covid jumping inside the country to locally transmit through direct contact staff and transport drivers without adequate PPE physically in touch with infected arrivals.

Local individuals working face on with overseas arrivals need to face a more stringent regime of daily testing and not being able to spread Covid back to their families, vulnerable work sites like aged care homes and indoor venues like shopping and medical hubs.

AEDT 4 pm, 8 January 2021, Sydney NSW.

#yongkevthoughts
#coronavirus

Illawarra Coast NSW - My Surviving Favs

 

On the Illawarra coast, we live a relatively free lifestyle devoid of
severe movement restrictions related to Covid 19.

Eating outlets have been reopened for dine in from July 2020. Fresh produce markets, cafes and supermarkets have witnessed bounce back in business.  There are no caveats on travelling north to Big Smoke Sydney and south, further north or west to regional areas.

So in gratitude, I list the outlets that still operate and carry on the good work they have been doing even before the arrival of the Coronavirus - and which I still drop by   from time to time.

Nowra - The Deli on  Kinghorne.

Berry - Queens Cafe.

Lake Illawarra - Fish and Chips.

Warilla Mall - Baker's Delight and Mitchell's.

Warrawong Westfield - Country Grocer, Fish Feast and the Coffee Emporium.

Figtree - Coles.

Wollongong -  My Lan, Kurtosh, Kinn Thai, Da Orlando, Lagoon, Harbourside, Aqua Cafe, Utopia Cafe and Boston Espresso.

Fairy Meadow - Broken Drum Cafe, Fedora Fresh Pasta, Massimo Papa Patisserrie.

Balgownie - El Nido and Mad Cup Cafe.

Towradgi Beach - Hello Darling Cafe.

Corrimal - Sam's Crusty Bread, Haven Cafe, Manjits.

Woonona - Mountain Meats, Moon Sushi, Three Beans.

Woonona Beach -  Northbreak Cafe.

Bulli - Bulli Seafood and Meats, Timbermill Cafe.

Thirroul -  Black Market Roasters.

#yongkevthoughts

Eating Out in Covid Times

 Eating out since Covid 19 emerged has changed the related flavour, experience and satisfaction - and I am not talking  about the food.

For starters, we are not even sure if the place is open, when we want to go visit.  Many outlets no longer make it a disciplined effort to update on websites their opening hours or when they do close, due to some 24 hour given notice of lockdown authorised by people external to the hospitality industry.

If we then arrive at the venue of an open cafe, restaurant or pop up outlet, we most likely see eager customers patiently lining up outside the door.
They are not in queue to purchase tickets for a good gig (that is rare now) or a fantastic physical reality sale ( online is so convenient now, except for  possible hiccups in the  parcel collection process).

Instead we are subject to mindfulness about social distancing requirements - that ever changing rule on how many square metres we have to be from the nearest human being, or group of strangers also here to get some food.  There can be tape markers on the floor or seats to help us realise this new normal. 

To discourage us spewing our unwanted DNA or simple saliva,  we are to face mask up at any indoor venue - or in this case of munch places, only allowed to remove the contraption when we actually eat.

When we do enter the dining place, we are asked to compromise our personal privacy by using the QR scan code - and no smiling please. 
Even if we want to pull up our own buckstraps of responsibility, the powers that be operating the related phone apps have a rather patchy reputation in having stored data hacked - or just may be relishing in tracking our where abouts for their own discretionary use.

We all want to fight the Covid  - but would it not be easier to not let the Coronavirus breach our borders, not come in to circulate and inevitably not make us commoners run around like headless chickens in trying to comply with ever changing, minutely detailed rules?

The reality is that best public health management can often be superseded by political opportunism, economic priorities and other deserving or not so reasonable precedents, especially when the powers that be exceedingly remind us daily that they are following best medical and scientific advice.

Back to our eating venue - and we finally get a table, precisely placed to not let us be bothered by being too near to people we do not know in this infectious Covid strain age.

There are hand sanitisers placed at the venue - and we appreciate such thoughtfulness.  The success of any anti-Covid measure depends on the management of its weakest points in the process. Here at our table are usually menus that have been used by others, tap water bottles that are shared around and condiment containers that cannot be provided individually.  A few outstanding places are aware of such potential transmission weak points, and take extra careful steps - this is much appreciated and hey, we all have to get practical when we eat out.

Nobody has contracted Covid 19 from consuming food.  It is the environment where food and drinks are served  commercially that increases or decreases infection risks.

Small and tight indoor spaces with poor air circulation are the canaries in the Covid infection coalmine.  Where you see groups huddled together inside venues, the risks increase further.  Add a relaxed atmosphere, where customers let down their guard and understandably have Covid as the last thing on their minds, for a change.

Most Covid outbreaks identified in Australia so far have been caught through leakage from overseas arrivals. The Covid then spreads to household family clusters or in crowded social hubs like pubs and RSL clubs or to vulnerable aged care residents who live in closed up facilities.  Ah yes, infectees who show no Covid symptoms do go to dine in restaurants and Covid jumps over to other customers there.

It is essential to our mental health that we can still dine in at venues, even when some governments are not willing to exterminate Covid. It is vital to small businesses and the economy that eating outlets are allowed to operate with optimal arrangements that benefit both providers and customers. 

#yongkevthoughts