A “ new chapter ” in the battle of Covid-19 is not a new chapter at all. It is a phony war

analyzing: Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield described it yesterday as a “new chapter” in the war against Covid-19, but it looked more like a pseudo-war – the period at the start of World War II when war was declared but very little fighting happened for eight months.

The vaccine was now Temporarily approved as safe By Medsafe, but everyone is now waiting and preparing for what will happen when the vaccine actually arrives on New Zealand’s shores.

This is because, Although she agrees – and it’s very good news – it looks like New Zealand is nowhere near getting the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.

The government is confident that the first batch will be delivered by the end of March, which Pfizer confirmed late yesterday, but until then the vaccine launch plans remain the same. The dates cannot be set, and the logistics – many of which are ready to go – have yet to start.

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* Coronavirus: Covid-19 vaccines will be transported from six warehouses to more than 1,000 clinics

The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has been approved for 16 years or more and will be delivered in two doses, with an interval of 21 days. The vaccine will be sent by air, and a rookie Bloomfield assured that the government is still expecting a vaccine in the first quarter of this year.

As big and positive news as the provisional approval of vaccines is undoubtedly, it does not answer the basic questions most people will ask: when can I get my vaccine, where can I get it, and who will be first in line.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hepkins said yesterday that the next phase of the vaccine launch will be around a “use decision”, which health officials will advise the government this week.

It revolves around, for example, the age range of people who will be vaccinated for the first time. The priority is clearly those in the community most vulnerable to Covid-19 and border workers. The government said earlier that if additional additional vaccine supplies are purchased, they will go directly to border workers.

Hepkins has repeatedly said since late last year that New Zealand is at the top of the vaccine waiting list – a description he must now regret, given that more than 50 countries began vaccinating their residents against Covid-19.

There are now more complications around New Zealand receiving vaccines by April than there were two weeks ago, especially European Union decision “To control vaccine exports” outside the European Union, because it says it gets only one in four vaccines it has paid for.

Positively, Medsafe has also received requests for vaccine approval from both Janssen single-shot and double-shot Astra Zeneca – makers of two of the four vaccines requested by the government.

Medsafe’s Chris James said yesterday Medsafe said it has not yet received an order from the manufacturer of its fourth vaccine, Novavaxx.

The Prime Minister stressed that safety is a top priority in evaluating the vaccine.

“Medsafe’s decision is the culmination of a rigorous evaluation process over several months to ensure that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is safe and effective to use here. It is informed by the most recent medical and scientific data. We can have confidence in their decision,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the clamor for a vaccine is making many of the players being measured so irrational.

New Zealand and other Western countries have stated that as a principle there should be some attention to those areas of the world devastated by Covid, in distributing vaccines.

However, despite the talk of “vaccination equality,” it seems that each country for itself and Satan are taking the last step.

Not surprisingly, given that in democracies at least, there isn’t much vote to be won through philanthropy for nations that do so hard, while living under the perpetual scepter of virus outbreak in your backyard.