Confusion and frustration reign when competency and skilled managers should be at the wheel

By Pepper Parr

December 29th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

OPINION

The Provincial Science Table determines the Omicron variant of Covid19 is here and it is going to infect thousands.

The Premier does another media event and implores people to call the telephone number set out in front of him and get vaccinated.

People turned out in droves; some line up at 5:30 in the morning waiting for the GO-VAXX bus to arrive.

Someone somewhere in the bureaucracy said walk-ns were permitted – all you had to do was show up and you could get your first shot; your second or the booster shot.

A GO-VAXX bus has the capacity to vaccination 247 people in a day.

It didn’t take much in the way of math skills to see a train wreck coming.

Hundreds were turned away and told to go online and register.

Add to this “dog chasing his tail” scenario: those refusing to get vaccinated at all and complaining about their rights being trampled upon with less than a thought about the rights of others not to be infected by someone not prepared to be vaccinated.

Most responsible organizations are respecting the right not to be vaccinated but insisting that the consequences have to be borne as well.  Don’t show up for work until you are vaccinated

The vaccination numbers for the Region of Halton are very good – depending on how you slice and dice them there is a cohort that has a 93% vaccination level (80+ with one dose).

Yet there appears to be some confusion and a lot of frustration.  With more than 1000 airline flights cancelled a few days ago it is clear a lot of people aren’t going anywhere.

The numbers today popped up to record 10,436 new cases with 726 hospitalizations and 190 in ICU.

The damage resulting from the Christmas get togethers is coming in.  Expect a lot more with New Year celebrations.  We have experienced 20 months of living through a pandemic and there is little assurance that once we get through Omicron there won’t be another variant.

People will want to let loose and assure themselves that even if they do get infected the Omicron variant isn’t all that serious.

The tourism and hospitality sectors, particularly at the small business level, have been almost decimated.

Parents don’t know if classes will open in January.

Many people are reluctant to return to jobs that put them in direct contact with people they don’t know who might be infected.

We learned yesterday of a person getting ready to start a new job but having to isolate for ten days – the person isn’t infected but the children are.

The province says more than 176,000 vaccine doses were administered yesterday. 90.7 per cent of Ontarians 12 and older have one dose and 88.1 per cent have two doses.

When we can step back and look at the vaccines the pharmaceutical sector has produced in very short periods of time, yes, we know they are making a bundle but the fact remains – some exceptional science has been done.

There are two levels that continue to disappoint.  The Neanderthals who don’t understand what is taking place and refuse to be vaccinated, and the provincial governments that manage to screw it up time after time.

There is more than business at stake.

Ontario’s Premier is fixated on businesses being open – failing to realize that it isn’t all about just the economy.

Is anyone convinced there is a clear, well thought out plan to get us through all this?  At a time when threats of polarization and social fragmentation prevail it is fair to ask if there is a national collective of trusting citizens able to confront the contemporary challenges.

Keep in mind,, dear reader that come next June – not that far away – the stumble bums in office now will be seeking your vote to continue doing what they have been doing.

Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.

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2 comments to Confusion and frustration reign when competency and skilled managers should be at the wheel

  • Hilary Durrant

    I may have this wrong, but I find that there are a few discrepancies with the opinion being illustrated here.

    Small businesses in tourism and hospitality are being massacred due to covid. However, further in the article ‘Ontario’s Premier’ seems to be criticized for wanting businesses to open up again to help the economy, thus helping those same small businesses like tourism and hospitality.

    Also illustrated, the pandemic has continued for 20 months and still the powers that be cannot assure us citizens what is going to happen after the Omicron variant. Who can? I don’t think anyone can, the powers that be or the common person in the street or a newspaper journalist.

    Furthermore, there is a reference regarding the Homo-neanderthals. Neanderthals are believed to have been as intelligent as Homo-sapiens, not as depicted in this article, as being inconsiderate. They are believed to have been empathetic and pacifists, whereas Sapiens are believed to have been the aggressors, which is still evident today, as one of our traits.

    Some people won’t get vaccinated and there are many reasons why. Are the people who do get vaccinated better than the person who doesn’t? What about the people who have been vaccinated and die due to complications from the vaccine, are they better than the ones who didn’t get vaccinated? If you have a relative who has died due to having the vaccine, would you get vaccinated? Think about it, this is not as straightforward as people think it is.

    My opinion is, this virus will be with us like influencer is. Eventually, we will have a yearly vaccine for the elderly population and those that are vulnerable. Until then, everyone should take some responsibility for their own behaviour and not just blame political advocates.

    However, life continues so make the best of it, as in the scheme of things, life is all too short.

  • Penny Hersh

    If people want students to return for in class learning, which in my opinion, is essential they have to stop being selfish and stay home.

    The numbers recorded are not necessarily a true count as labs cannot keep up with the demands placed on them to process the tests.

    Supposedly, Omicron is not nearly as deadly as the Delta variant, however, the sheer numbers of people contracting this variant will overwhelm the hospitals. The vaccinated are not totally protected as the information indicates that triple vax’d people are getting sick.

    How many time have you heard” I have been vaccinated and boosted so I am safe”? This has proven to be incorrect. The vaccine is not the “silver bullet”. Now more than ever proper masking (that is worn properly and outside as well), and maintaining physical distancing needs to be followed, if not to protect yourself, then for others who you may inadvertently infect.

    The Provincial Government has failed miserably in providing the necessary vaccine and proper closures to protect the people of Ontario.

    We know what we have to do to keep everyone safe, so just do it.

    People do NOT have to get together to ” RING IN THE NEW YEAR”