Human face of suffering waiting for Covid vaccines

While I understand the Australian government wants to keep citizens safe by keeping the borders closed, it appears to be making little progress in vaccination (“Jab to unlock travel freedom”, 18/5). This I can’t understand; why would any government that could fund the vaccines delay the rollout and ability to make real progress in keeping its citizens safe for the future?

Living in Scotland, I have had both my vaccinations. I have followed the Scottish government’s COVID-19 guidance to the letter. Throughout the pandemic I have missed both my sons, one living in America and one living in Australia, and special events in their lives.

One of the biggest events for me was the birth of my granddaughter in Australia. I had almost given up ever achieving the grand status of becoming a granny. It finally happened and I arranged two trips to Australia to meet this very special arrival. Both trips were cancelled. I then hoped to be there for her first birthday, which I was forced to miss. It’s now looking as if I will also miss her second birthday if the borders remain closed to mid-2022.

Building relationships with your grandchildren is important, as is the relationships with your children. My plea is for the Australian government to increase the speed of the vaccination program and open the borders as they originally said in October 2021. Let all grandparents make their special journeys to meet their grandchildren and allow us to make those special memories. It would appear at the moment the priority is to sportspeople, leaving families to miss out.

Tracy Johnston, West Lothian, Scotland

Where is the moral compass of the current Australian government? Australian citizens are being left, rather forced, to remain in India, where they are in great danger of being exposed to COVID-19. Australia has empty detention centres that would make considerably better quarantine centres than hotels.

Australian citizens must be brought home at the earliest opportunity. They will be safer quarantining in detention centres than remaining in India, and the rest of Australia will be safe from any danger if returning citizens are quarantined in the Northern Territory or other comparable facili­ties.

Robert Smallwood, Coffs Harbour, NSW

The government seems to be adopting a carrot-and-stick approach to freedom of movement: the stick is that we get the jab and the carrot is that we will be allowed take that overseas holiday.

The curious thing is that there is no correlation between the two. The jab does not stop you getting COVID-19 and does not stop you spreading it. It is a crude case of do as you are told or you won’t be allowed travel: “Eat your broccoli or you don’t get dessert.” Since when did we give governments such power?

Frank Pulsford, Aspley, Qld

I refer to the excellent articles by Natasha Robinson and Angelica Snowden (“Lack of injections for the disabled ‘a disgrace’ ”, 18/2).

My son is one of the 25,000 people with a disability living in residential accommodation who is still waiting for his COVID injection. We were first promised the injection in March and it is now scheduled for next week although I am waiting with bated breath. My son is one of the most vulnerable in the community yet has been treated as just another number.

Rob MacDiarmid, Mollymook, NSW

I was shocked by the story saying we over-50s who do not want the AstraZeneca vaccine are threatening the federal government’s vaccine rollout (“ ‘Oldies’ hedge their dose bets”, 18/5). It’s the other way around. The federal government is threatening the health of the many tens of thousands of us who suffer from comorbidities and want the Pfizer vaccine.

I am 77 with type 2 diabetes, have suffered a heart attack and need an open-heart triple bypass operation. I could be prone to blood clots. So I’m far more vulnerable to the coronavirus than the great bulk of those Australians under 50 who will be getting the Pfizer vaccine. This is the federal government blatantly discriminating against older Australians and effectively branding those over-50s who want Pfizer for valid health reasons as second-class citizens.

Paul Raffaele, Leichhardt, NSW