The seven words that end all Australian lockdowns

As millions struggle through another lockdown, Australians want their freedom back. And the answer lies in these seven simple words.

It sounds so simple.

As Sydney residents struggle through another lockdown and other states and territories remain on edge about the Delta strain taking hold, we can’t forgot what needs to happen for this to end.

Speaking on Tuesday, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews — who copped his fair share of criticism for Melbourne’s long lockdown in 2020 — said there is an easy way out of this.

“This ends by everybody getting two jabs and then we’re able to say we’ve all done our very best to protect everyone who needs to be protected,” Mr Andrews said.

Those first seven words couldn’t be clearer.

“There’ll then still be from time to time masks and things of that nature but not lockdowns.”

No more lockdowns. No more border closures. Australians living the new normal of life with Covid-19.

But we’re a long way away from that.

RELATED: Why I’m happy to be a vaccine queue jumper

In February, news.com.au launched its Our Best Shot campaign. We knew that vaccinating against Covid-19 was the easiest way for Australians to get their normal lives back.

We also knew that millions of Aussies would be hesitant to get the jab, so we wanted to dispel any myths and answer your concerns.

Months later and we’re still no closer to getting the 80 per cent of Australians vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.

But we were wrong in thinking it would be hesitant Australians holding us back.

Yes, there are still millions of Australians still wary of getting either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, but not for the reasons we thought.

It’s fair to say the Morrison Government’s handling of the vaccine rollout has been shambolic and confusing.

State leaders providing conflicting advice to what Scott Morrison has told Australians also hasn’t helped encourage people to roll up their sleeve.

It’s made Australia a laughing stock. We’re being used as the test case of what NOT to do for a vaccine rollout.

RELATED: ‘Valid’ reason people won’t get the jab

When our political editor Samantha Maiden did a Facebook Live with Mr Morrison in February for Our Best Shot, he said misinformation and conspiracy theories being shared on social media was one of the biggest challenges the nation faced during the pandemic.

He was wrong.

What has been our biggest challenge has been a lack of clear information from state and federal leaders about the rollout.

As it stands right now, only 11.64 per cent of eligible Australians are fully vaccinated. And just 33.31 per cent of eligible Australians have had the first dose.

We’re ranked last out of the 38 OECD nations.

It’s not good enough.

Crowds of people wearing face masks wait in line to receive a Covid-19 vaccination at the NSW vaccination hub in Sydney on Sunday.

While the rest of world got its s**t together, we sat on our hands. The PM told us “it’s not a race”, but it is and always was.

That’s why we’re relaunching Our Best Shot, so Australians can get the latest information on our vaccine rollout.

We’ll continue to answer your questions about vaccines and dispel any myths about the dangers of getting the jab.

But we’ll also honestly report the potential side effects and the risks associated with getting the vaccine while clearly explaining the slim chance of that happening to you.

And we’ll give you simple information on when you’re eligible for the vaccine and how you can book in for your jab.

We’ll also give you a daily update of how many Australians have been vaccinated.

No one wants to see Australia face more lockdowns in 2022 and beyond.

We need to get our lives back to normal as soon as possible. We want to see loved ones who live interstate or overseas. We want to go on overseas holidays again. We want to see live music and live sport again.

We want our lives back.

This is Our Best Shot.

Oliver Murray is the editor of news.com.au