Dawn Chorus: Vaccine deal in the works

TLDR & TLDL: The level four lockdown was extended as expected for a fortnight in Auckland and now the focus shifts to how the country can find enough Pfizer doses to keep up a stunningly-high daily vaccination rate.

Our current stockpile of vaccines could be used up by the end of next week at the current rate of around 80,000 jabs per day, but fresh supplies are probably on the way. Photo The Kaka

New Zealand looks set to soon announce a deal to get extra doses from another country. PM Jacinda Ardern said yesterday she expected to announce within a few days how to deal with a looming shortage brought on by vaccination rates in the last fortnight that have spiked to 500,000 per week from a forecast 350,000 a week. There were 840,000 doses in the stockpile yesterday, implying it could be used up by the end of next week at the current rate of around 80,000 per day.

Luke Malpass reported this morning ‘Stuff understands the Govt is working on a deal similar to one done by Scott Morrison in mid-August, whereby Australia bought one million Pfizer shots from Poland on a not-for-profit basis as Covid spiralled out of control in New South Wales.’

Meanwhile, the extra doses can’t come soon enough for Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, who told RNZ this morning he had asked the Government to prioritise vaccination in South Auckland to reduce the risks for the nation overall.

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Other scoops and news breaking this morning

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

‘Two HelloFresh employees in Auckland have tested positive for COVID-19. The two people are from the distribution centre and some other team members have gone into self-isolation.’ Via ⁦@NewshubNZ⁩

newshub.co.nzAs it happened: Latest on COVID-19 community outbreak - Monday, August 30Fifty-three new community cases of COVID-19 were reported on Monday.

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

Doherty warns Australian cabinet lockdowns needed half the time even at 70pc vaccinated in NSW; lockdowns needed 31% of time at 80% via ⁦@FinancialReview⁩-$$$

afr.comNSW COVID UPDATES: October will be the worst month for hospitals, NSW warnsLockdowns still needed half the time when 70 per cent fully vaccinated: experts; NZ extends lockdown; Morrison says Australia’s lockdowns “must end”. Find the latest here.

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Signs o’ the times news

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

"It's distressing to hear constant reference to the 'team of 5 million' and how our wonderful essential workers are contributing to our Covid response, but when the migrants in that team need help we're cast aside.”

rnz.co.nzBenefits for migrants to end today - ‘What happened to our fabled kindness?’Emergency benefits for migrants are being axed from today - and advocates say the timing could not be worse.

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

‘If, as I suspect, the explanation is that contact tracers simply aren’t asking for the information, then we need a policy decision as to whether this system is actually useful for contact tracing.’ Via ⁦@andrewtychen⁩

mcdp.nzWhat’s wrong with Bluetooth Tracing?We know that contact tracing is a critical part of our ability to contain any outbreak of an infectious disease. Bluetooth Tracing, offered ...

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

Climate emergency? Govt’s ferry operator chooses the higher emissions option.

stuff.co.nzKiwiRail defends high-emission ferry fuel decisionKiwiRail is doubling down on its decision to purchase two new Interislander ferries powered by high-emission fuel, despite criticism from the maritime workers’ union.

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

‘The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) is calling on the government to urgently address immigration difficulties for doctors and other health workers, describing the system as shambolic.’

rnz.co.nz‘Zero response’ from govt after visa delay concerns raised - doctor’s unionThe Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is calling on the government to urgently address immigration difficulties for doctors and other health workers, describing the system as shambolic.

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

Another in an excellent first-person series of articles via ⁦@NZStuff⁩ on the stories of people who can’t get into MIQ

stuff.co.nzCovid-19: ‘These are real lives’: Kiwis exhausted and in anguish over MIQAn ill caregiver, a student, a doctor, and a woman expected at work all share their frustrations with the managed isolation system.

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

‘Chapman talked to one Auckland teacher who had asked her students what they had for dinner on Sunday night. One said the parents had cooked saveloys for the children and the parents drank the water it was boiled in.’

stuff.co.nzPlay dough flour delivered to solo mum to feed four kids in lockdownLockdown is tougher for some: Parents drank the water after giving their kids the saveloys

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

"A lot of families are budgeting with their children eating at school. Suddenly, we are stuck at home and those services are cut off completely and this time they were cut off without any notice at all."

rnz.co.nzSudden lockdown puts financial pressure on struggling familiesTeachers in areas caught up in the latest Covid-19 outbreak say whānau are struggling to afford enough food.

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Chart of the day

Eric Feigl-Ding @DrEricDing

🦠NEW VARIANT—a new #SARSCoV2 variant C.1.2 just identified in South Africa & several countries, with concerns it could be more infectious and evade vaccines. #C12 also has mutation rate that is nearly **twice as fast** as the rate of the other variants.🧵 jpost.com/health-science…

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Useful longer reads

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

Simon Chapple: “We’ve escaped the worst of the culture wars that have created these schisms in the [United] States and the UK and Australia. Those culture wars have been very destructive of trust in one’s fellow citizens.” No News Corp in NZ.

theguardian.comEven as New Zealand battles Covid, trust in government bucks global trendWith a nationwide lockdown and some of the world’s strictest restrictions, Jacinda Ardern is counting on her people’s goodwill again

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Some fun things

john shakespeare @johnshakespeare

King of The Croods

Holly Neill @HollyNeillNZ

A collection of the majestic tūī having a splash. These are some of my favourite images I've taken! Note that its name is tūī - not tui. 'Tui' means 'to sew'. Tohutō (macrons) are essential in Te Reo Māori so make sure ya use them wherever they're needed!

Ka kite ano

Bernard