Thought of the Day - December 23 2021 - Omicron Strategies

It has been interesting observing how different parts of the world react to the Omicron wave.

I watched Biden's speech on Tuesday and must admit all I saw was panic. Panic concerning vaccination ("if you are not vaccinated you are going to die"), panic concerning the availability of testing ("the Omicron virus spread more rapidly than anybody thought"), panic concerning the press conference ("I'm not supposed to be having this press conference right now") - wow!

On the other hand, looking to Australia. Australia has been getting their fair share of criticism due to a heavy-handed approach to COVID. Melbourne, despite relatively low case counts, has had more days of lockdown than almost any other city. For quite a while the Australian government did not even allow their citizens to return home from overseas. Zero-tolerance for positive cases led to the use of isolation camps. And, all the while politicians have ranted for forced vaccination.

However, listening to Scott Morrison on Tuesday, it now looks like they will be moving away from a "COVID-Zero" strategy to a "Living with COVID" strategy. In fact, they might now be one the most progressive in embracing what is being talked about as the "Omicron opportunity".

In short, they are now saying that they are moving from state-driven policy to public responsibility. They are now saying that while vaccines save lives they will not end the pandemic. They are now saying that while masks save lives they will not mandate them. They are now saying that flattening the curve includes filling in the dips, thus more cases are the best chance to increase the level of natural immunity ( Thought of the Day - September 24 2021 - Curve Flattening ). Is this an inspired new approach or simply a tactic to try to regain public trust ahead of the May election? Only time will tell.

And here we are in Canada we find ourselves somewhere in between. Those provinces that enacted medical emergencies ( Thought of the Day - December 8 2021 - Canada's States of Emergency ) are more interested in protecting the medical system than in saving lives (note how BC has announced nothing concerning additional measures for care homes, just the cancellation of surgeries).

I am not suggesting the best path is easy, just that while most countries have similar data to work with it is surprising to see different directions being taken. It is going to be really interesting to see which of these policies ultimately turn out to be the best approach.

Cheers

Cliff