Over 12 months since COVID-19 made landfall and a new vaccine is offering renewed hope of viral extermination.

Labelled ‘new vaccine’ because past claims of vaccine development have been numerous.

Russia won the race with the first registered vaccine, Sputnik V, developed back in October 2020.

Oddly, there was little hype surrounding the Russian elixir; hushed also were efficacy reports of this hastily produced and distributed (Argentina was reportedly administered 300,000 doses in December last year) Sputnik V, leading the rest of the world to wonder…

True to form, right behind the Russian juggernaut, later in December of 2020 the USA was quick to reveal its own vaccination progress; US medical researchers had in the works three potential world-savers – AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine, and Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine – but again, garnering limited fanfare.

…All these supposed vaccines yet, January 13^th, 2021, the world suffered its worst ever COVID-related mortality – over 16,000 deaths in one day – more than twice the number of global deaths than this time a month ago.

The two most recent attempts, though, the ​​​​Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine have finally gained some recognition, as though there is feeling the end of the COVID pandemic might be nearing.

Huh, forgive my resounding lack of confidence.

Viral contagions are living organisms; like the human beings they inhabit, the foremost instinct of viruses is self-preservation. Like us, a virus will change, adapt, and evolve for optimal existence within its given conditions.

If viruses could be eradicated, why would Medical Science allow something so insidious as the Cold virus to plague mankind?

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Noah Hopper

Photography by E Ruddy/K Shinn

Cast your mind back to 2017; Donald J Trump has just beaten Hilary Clinton in the US election and much of the world is now in hysterics regarding the World War Three event that President Trump is indubitably going to incite.

Skip forward to 2021; President Trump has completed his four-year stint as Leader of the Free World and, having been edged out in the recent election by Democrat Joe Biden, has transpired to be one of history’s least pugnacious presidents.

WW3 never occurred despite Trump’s riling of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and, in fact, exactly zero wars were started in the name of Donald J Trump.

There are no presidents in recent history who can say they incited zero international conflicts.

Before Trump there was Obama; he started the Waziristan War.

Before Barack Obama there was Bush; he started the Afgan War against the Talliban.

Before George W Bush there was Clinton; he started many wars, including the Kosovo War.

Before Bill Clinton there was Bush Sr; this man started the original war in Iraq which, in fairness, has been more devastating to the US than concurrent COVID pandemics.

George Bush Senior was still far from the biggest warmonger the US has seen but, assuredly, nor was Donald J Trump who, despite bearing such hatred and derision, actually did nothing wrong during his single term in power and, more notably, he started no wars.

Going back even further – Raegan, Carter, Ford, Nixon – US Presidents, traditionally, start at least one international conflict during their time in power.

The man, who many were terrified would bring the world to its knees, as a further many of us could appreciate, was nothing but a big fat blowhard.

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Imp Eaching

Photography by D J Trump

At a time where COVID-19/20/21 is ravaging the global populous with renewed tenacity, I was foolish enough to expect people might have pulled in their heads somewhat.

Oh my, was I mistaken.

‘The worsening COVID-19 outbreak in the UK is making it close to impossible for many Kiwis trying to get back home’.

Imagine my distaste to come across the aforementioned excerpt in a recent Newshub publication.

In that same article, causing me to choke a little: ‘On Sunday the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced six cases of the new UK Variant were in New Zealand.’

Gosh, this all sounds wonderful. They are ‘behind the border’ though, so, you know.

That Newshub article just kept on flowing, like the exceptional piece of writing it was: ‘COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced on Sunday that on January 15, all travellers from the UK will need to return a negative COVID-19 test prior to departure.’

Funny, that just there, common sense told me that would have been happening months ago; mind you, didn’t work so brilliantly for that planeload of Russian fruit-pickers, did it? Every one of them entering quarantine with COVID-ravaged lungs, so, yeah.

There is a supposed vaccine though, so, well, you know, if it’s anywhere near as effective as those other viral vaccines like the Flu jab; if you are in the unlikely minority who contract genuine Influenza – as opposed to a heavy case of Cold – there is then a chance you have been vaccinated against the strain of Influenza currently plaguing you but, more likely not (in other words, the Flu vaccine provides low-percentage protection against an even lower percentage virus).

Of course, I am extremely thankful that our Government is managing the Coronavirus pandemic with such competency and I am furthermore thankful that I am a citizen of a country where officials take seriously the rules and the regulations that keep people safe.

I am aghast that, having been told almost a year ago of a potentially worsening Novel Coronavirus epidemic, we now find there are Kiwis out there who possess such a strong and selfish sense of self-preservation, that they are willing to potentially bring down their native land just to be safe.

You make the self-centred choice eight months ago to stay abroad, so be it, but are you really so gutless that now you’ll come running back to safety?

Huh, each to their own, I guess.

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Devi Staten

Photography by Homer Land

I can’t think of a more appropriate time to be delivering homily than right now, at the start of a new day, at the beginning of this New Year.

Honestly though, does anyone even want to hear it?

Does anyone ever want to hear it?

In New Zealand we have a proud history or telling others what to do; this is not the gentle offering of advisement either, but the telling, the firm instructing, the brazen demanding that others follow our rules, our etiquette, our homily.

Indeed, in New Zealand, we seem to thrive on telling others what to do; some Kiwis, the assertive (bumptious) ones, they consider themselves the delegators and, exerting this self-imposed qualification, will then basically bully the other (less bumptious, more agreeable) people into accepting, abiding, even advocating their homily…

Childish as this may sound, this is a grownup practise.

…The alternative, if somebody (less bumptious but still able to think for themselves), decides they disagree with a given instruction thus are unwilling to go along with the delegator’s rules, this so-called leader is likely to have a tantrum and possibly withdraw into a sulk until they get their way.

Childish as this may sound, I assure you, this is a grownup practise.

I am aware that this assertive leader/bumptious delegator hierarchy thing goes on in other cultures too but, New Zealand being a country composed of tall-poppy-chopping yet overconfident, depression-prone yet stoic, self-admiring yet pretentiously humble, too-cool-to-be-seen-trying-hard yet fiercely competitive, quick-to-take-offence yet feverishly laid-back Kiwi battlers, across any other culture that I have witnessed/experienced, among the general population, I don’t believe I have ever seen/felt the effects of self-imposed hierarchy as severely as I have experienced in New Zealand.

It’s always good to take advice where advisement is required but, in my experience, almost every Kiwi thinks they know how to do it better than you will.

Almost every Kiwi will offer unsolicited improvements even if they don’t fully understand the topic.

Now, here’s the irony: most Kiwis don’t like being told what to do, particularly the kinds of Kiwi who thrive on telling others how to behave.

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Mie A Whey

Photography by Bess D Whey