New Zealand’s biggest city is still under strict lockdown level-3 restrictions as you read this article. With the exception of some small relief to people, like allowing use of some essential services such as going to supermarkets, gas station, a pharmacy or to a takeaway nearby, the life pretty much appears to be at a standstill in the big city. The Delta version of the pandemic has ruthlessly busted New Zealand government’s plans and dream of stamping the virus out. The new case numbers in daily pandemic briefings now don’t surprise either to health authorities or to the public. In fact, health ministry is warning people of daily numbers reaching to three digits soon.

Its really unfortunate to see New Zealand to be in this condition today and there are many reasons for that. The biggest one being lacklustre approach of the health ministry about the pace of vaccination. The government’s constant boasting of team of five million did not work for it positively since there was lot of talking but very little action about it. It is quite surprising and embarrassing to note that our government failed to deliver when it was needed the most. The whole nation is paying a big price for government’s lethargy or lack of clarity on such a sensitive matter. At one point the Prime Minster had one view on the lockdown regulations, Health Minister had another view, and the Health Ministry officials had an altogether different view. This created a big confusion among people for some time. The lack of right information at right time delayed some proceedings including an accelerated rate of vaccination. The constant delays in procuring vaccines in time also hampered the pace of vaccination. All these chaos have culminated into the outcome as only half the country is vaccinated so far in over six months’ time, since jabbing first started in New Zealand.

A country of New Zealand’s size should have been fully vaccinated by now and secured lives of its people without putting any additional burden on country’s exchequer. Whatever little action that we see happening today is result the of government being put under immense pressure from opposition parties, businesses, and health authorities. It’s quite fashionable in western countries to laugh at the status of basic amenities and poor infrastructure in south Asian countries especially on a country of India’s size and stature. Look what India has done during this entire period of pandemic. Not only it changed the pandemic calamity into an opportunity and developed its own vaccine and nonetheless without making any major compromise with economic activities. India is soon going to reach 1 billion mark to vaccinate its large population of 1.4 billion. If government wants to get rid off the prolonged lockdowns which are killing our businesses and industries, we must complete the vaccination at the fastest possible pace. Not only constant lockdowns are making a big dent to our economy but also creating many social and mental health issues in the community. The family violence numbers have reached to a new high during this period and people’s anger and frustrations are coming out more frequently.

No political or administrative system anywhere in the world is perfect or invincible. You only learn from your mistakes but it’s very important to learn from your mistakes That’s where our government lags, the acceptance of its failure and indecisiveness. If government doesn’t have courage to accept its mistake and shortcomings, there will be less chance to improve in those areas. This is not the time to look for political milage in every action government must take. Even if it’s a tough decision like mandating the vaccine to all, just do it without worrying about the political consequences to it. What is good for the country should be prime objective not the appeasement of a certain section of society at the expense of a common law abiding New Zealander. -Yugal Parashar