Feeling grumpy

We have family in Melbourne, those in their 80’s have been vaccinated but their children haven’t, they are all in their 50’

Glad the older ones managed to get vaccinated GrannyGravy, you must be relieved for them!

Why is the vaccination program so slow there? Is it just the amount of people versus demand?

It really should have been a global effort. I realise people have urgent things they need to do overseas, like see a dying relative but the amount of large gatherings and people on holiday on my facebook feed is giving me the heeby jeebies I'm sure the rules aren't for several families to meet are they? I realise I'm in a different country to you

Our time will come again no doubt, nanna8 so you won't be on your own. Scientists here are saying that our " freedom " will be a foolish move on the 21st of this month, but others, who aren't scientists think it'll be alright !
We'll be back where we started, wait and see.

EV so right with your prediction lets wait and see what Sept/October brings after the getaway holiday and people not isolating when they get back I fear we will go through this again next winter.

EV absolutely correct. Vaccine rollout is going well in the UK but people shouldn’t be complacent.

It is taking so long to vaccinate here because,putting it bluntly, we couldn’t organise our way out of a paper bag.

Your infection rate may be spreading but what is the situation in your hospitals and death rates, please? I'd be interested to know if they're staying under control.

Kim19 there have been no deaths for quite some time now and very few in hospitals. At least in Victoria and I think it is much the same throughout Australia.

I do not understand why the vaccination rate is so low, apparently only 4% of the Australian population has had the first shot. I do know that there was some issue with supply when some EU countries decided they would not send the vaccination supplies to Australia due to the low rate. This in spite of agreements to supply. Some vaccines are being produced here now but there was also a hold up with those batches being approved.

Unfortunately I think there is a lot of politicing going on. This is one of the problems of having State Governments and a Federal Government.

We haven’t learnt a damn thing
Nanna8 Cheer up!
We aren't doing badly; Victoria, our "worst" State has 54 active cases . out of a population of over 5 million!
Wouldn't fill a double-decker bus!

From what I've heard, there is a fair amount of resistance to the vaccinations and a lot of scaremongering going on.

For a country which is insistent on babies being given a Hep B vaccine at birth, children having the full range of childhood vaccinations including influenza, pneumococcal, rotavirus etc as babies and before they can be accepted into school and which gives older children the HPV vaccine without permission from parents, I am very surprised.

I’m in Melbourne too, and now our daughter in Sydney has to cancel her trip to visit. June 10 had sounded safe, but no. I have trouble engaging with some very dear friends, who declined AZ vaccination. As if this amazingly successful virus wasn’t going to come back to bite us!

I’d heard that because of your low number of deaths, complacency had set in and people didn’t see the need to get vaccinated. Now, of course, people are realising and hence there is a big demand. Also the blockade of Italy/EU of the vaccine delayed supply.

I have relatives and friends in Melbourne and Geelong.
I didn't think there was anybody left in Melbourne after a huge number left to go down to the surf coast and now it appears that someone that has Covid has been in one of the small towns there in several social situations.
Too many anti vaxxers and too much of a hold up to provide the actual vaccines with the idea that they must be given in a medical setting.
Seriously, you guys are lucky. Try living in the UK where we have been in some sort of a lockdown for the last 12 months and still aren't back to anything near a normal life!
The Australian government seem to have spent most of the last 12 months in a partial denial or otherwise following the "she'll be right" philosophy !

Two of my family live in WA. Although the vaccination programme there is also very slow they made a good job of locking down the borders early. As a result they have had very few cases.

A lot of the problems relate to the economy. Businesses don't want lockdowns for loss of profits.People don't want lockdown as they could lose wages. Government doesn't want lockdown as loss of taxes. The UK has never shut down foreign travel either hence the hot spots of the different variants. We have though had a good distribution and uptake of vaccination. Australia to me seemed to be held up as a shining example of how to manage a pandemic so what's gone wrong at this stage?

Sorry to hear that nanna8. Perhaps this should be a wake up call to all in the UK who constantly criticise Boris Johnston and his government. The vaccine rollout has been outstanding. Yes a few mistakes have been made especially at the beginning of covid but I for one, would not have wanted to be in their position having to make unprecedented decisions. I have had both vaccines (age 56) and now my DS and DDIL age 30 have today had first one. Great achievement

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I am sorry to hear of the troubles overseas and very sad that so many have died in the past, but maybe we were lucky having that 'blundering idiot' and his cronies in charge.

I agree JaneJudge... how long will it take for world leaders, and everyone to realise needs a world combined effort?

but I doubt many will, as even here in the UK, we are not united in thought and deed.

Preaching to the choir as here in uk weve just spent months in lockdown.yet in short space of time its been 'eased' the Indian variant seems to be completely taking over.Starting to think theres nowhere to turn as whatever we try (on vaccine front) theres always going to be yet another variant that gets out of control! Time to face fact that we can probably NEVER travel freely from country to country ever again??

I'm afraid everyone is in the same boat . We just have to suck it up and put on our big girl pants and ride it out .

Well, this is an eye-opener when people keep holding Australia up as an example of how to beat COVID.

Totally fed up with it here in the UK as well. I am really struggling this time round as don't see any way forward.
Currently on redeployment as cant wear the ppe face masks so cannot go into a hospital ward. Washing pots in the kitchen instead which I appreciate is as essential as ever other job and is better than no job at all but not what I should be doing.
If the whole world had shut down early in 2020 for 3 months I reckon it would be over by now.