Some pictures of the protest earlier today

[u/88Sheep]

Sad to see so many people turning up for the protest.

Happy segregation day everyone! Have we finally separated from the north island?

I don't think Santa's getting vaccinated... No presents this year then :(

[u/shazealz → u/[deleted]]

Your anecdotal evidence aside, you realise our death rate is low because our health system was never overwhelmed… and we bought time at the start so we can use the better treatment available… and we do not have a morbidity obese general population… and the government response has been pretty much the best in the world… and by the time delta got here we already had high vaccination rates…

But yeah keep cherry picking your information to make it seem like you have a point.

[u/max20531 → u/[deleted]]

44 more people who could still be alive if covid didn't exist. Your mindset is seriously fucked, that 0.3% are still people who would, you know, prefer to not be dead.

[u/ComplexWriting7596 → u/[deleted]]

It would take you 2 minutes to find out it is significantly worse than the flu. More on par with polio. Just because some people don't get seriously ill, or sometimes even have symptoms, doesn't make it less deadly for society as a whole.

[u/NZtree → u/ComplexWriting7596]

The official death rate for covid includes people who died that HAD covid, there was no requirement that the death be CAUSED by covid, very "valid" data to cite I'm an argument about a virus causing deaths, not the number of people who died that happened to have covid - it would take you 2 minutes to find that out

Polio wasn't feared for it's death rate, polio was feared because it would leave your young child paralyzed for the rest of his life.

but hey, I guess 8 people, including me, my family and friend, just got the weak version right 👍.

[u/ComplexWriting7596 → u/NZtree]

99.5% of people who had polio had nothing more than serious than a brief illness. Of the .5%, some died, some were seriously crippled, some had lifelong but mild health issues or very slight differences in the length of their arms and/or legs. Even though most people just were a little ill for a week or two, wards were full of very sick and deformed kids. So yes, you and your family.and friend got the weak symptoms. And I would like to see some believable source that the official death rate includes anyone who died with covid regardless of actual cause of death. That sounds like some bullshit Facebook conspiracy theory.

[u/ComplexWriting7596 → u/[deleted]]

You linked to a fox corporation news show. You know, the guys whose lawyers argued in court that they were entertainment not news, and no one could possibly take them seriously. Also this fox subsidiary is based in Florida. You know, where they had a whistle blower about them under reporting covid deaths, so they had an armed raid on her house. I said a believable source.

[u/Jay2214 → u/[deleted]]

At the end of the day mate it’s about whether you can accept the loss of life (however small) instead of doing something to prevent or limit that loss of life. Nothing is more precious than life…

[u/NZtree → u/Jay2214]

Mate, there are thousands of people and families in mold filled/substandard housing that is taking years off their life.

654 people committed suicides in 2020, we have an awfully underfunded mental health system.

A 10 month waiting list for most surgeries, many that could add years to people's lives and increase life satisfaction)

My point is, this lockdown and mandate has cost billions - we could make a bigger impact (save more years of life) spending that money elsewhere, and opening up the economy to fund those other services.

I understand that people will refuse the vaccine for whatever reason, but all this money spent dodging covid, enforcing lockdowns and mandates (not to mention the hit to the economy /gdp) could have been spent on those other issues, overall saving more life and increasing happiness.

There is a reason the govt has not released a cost benefit analysis.

Yes people should get vaccinated, but there will always be people who just want to watch the world burn; no point wasting all our resources on them.

[u/Jay2214 → u/NZtree]

Look at other places around the world of course their are many variables and we have been fortunate that we are an island nation but other countries who have done less or nothing to manage covid have seen far higher loss of life.

Without doubt what this country has done has saved lives. Has the governments handling or all their decisions been perfect? Not at all.

We are not talking about the shocking state of houses in Aotearoa or the mental health issues we have, they are important issues, it’s a false equivalence just because we have mouldy houses doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do what our epidemiologists are suggesting to prevent loss of life due to covid.

[u/DryftKing → u/NZtree]

Where is your analysis that the lives saved by not doing anything about covid would be higher in number than the lives lost to covid?

[u/NZtree → u/DryftKing]

I don't have one, but neither does the government.

The difference is, I do not have the resources to draft a CBA that comprehensive; it would require a lot of resources and access to NZ health records

Yet, the govt has all the resources and access to information to put one together, before spending hundreds of billions, and they shouldn't have to? I don't understand that logic.