In the article titled “Luxon: NZ deserves much better response” (Times, January 26) written by Luxon or the National Party propaganda organ that will not reveal itself?
The difference between the National Party and the Labour Coalition over this pandemic, in short, is as follows – the National Party supports business first, that is making a profit regardless of the nation’s medical health.
The Labour Coalition has spent billions of dollars in supporting business and wages so that anti-Covid-19 measures can be taken, but the National Party are never satisfied, neither is TV1 it seems.
The Labour Coalition’s response to the pandemic has been based on facts and the recommendations from scientists and medical industry on the best way to avoid deaths and Long Covid.
Their decisions at times have been slightly delayed, awaiting receipt of pandemic data etc but this is not quick enough for the Nats who would make decisions based on ideology it seems.
The Government’s response to avoiding deaths and general disruption has proven to be outstanding compared to other nations and the economic performance is better than expected.
The National Party uses misinformation and fact omission to construct their propaganda. For example, their criticism of the delay in use of rapid antigen tests conveniently overlooks the fact that this test is not as reliable as PCR testing.
From the Ministry of Health website: “Rapid antigen tests are supervised at pharmacies rather than offered for sale and self-testing because they are significantly more accurate when undertaken by a trained worker. 97.2% of the population live within 20 minutes’ drive from a pharmacy, so use of this network will ensure testing is widely available for all those that need it during this time.”
From the Healthline.com: “For people with symptoms of Covid-19, the tests correctly gave a positive result an average of 72 per cent of the time. Although rapid tests can provide quick results, they aren’t as accurate as PCR tests analysed in a lab.”
Paul Jensen
Somerville
