Correct. But until the 'average Australian' wakes up, "experts" who never in their wildest dreams thought that they would get so much attention are going to continue doubling down on their stupidity.

Australians have been described as "Covid-fearing infantilised toddlers", and there is not much hope of a fightback against a couple of decades of being ruled by a class of managerial elites, who pretty much ignore the wishes of the Australian people as expressed at elections. Why even have elections if all parliament does is merely implement “expert” advice, as it has done with Covid, and will probably continue to do so on all manner of issues, now that it has the taste for responsibility-dodging. Just today, unelected, no-responsibility, Andrew Forrest has TOLD the Morrison government to set a net zero carbon goal. Morrison, elected on the strength of Labor's unpopularity for promising that is already on board with such nonsense.

Zero emissions by 2050? Australia will be 'zero everything' by then.

That's because of non-compliance by the poor, who cannot afford to take unpaid leave, nor struggling businesses who cannot afford to cease trading! Then there is movement and contact via the transport of essential household commodities.

And examples like Bondi, where nobody wore the obligatory mask nor kept a social distance. but were found all over each other in (I'm alright Jack) amorous non-compliant contact.

Then there has been a flawed quarantine system that is not fit for purpose! And dumb pollies opening up, way too soon! And all that just the tip of a, keystone cops, iceberg.

For studies to be worth a cracker, they cannot draw any conclusion from highly suspect and demonstrably, flawed data!
Alan B.

I agree, ttbn. We will never ever get to zero emissions as long as we keep our self imposed embargo on nuclear power! I mean, we will always need reliable, dispatchable power! That said, you are way off topic mate! As is my short reply.
Alan B.

Not really off the topic, Alan, as I was following up on the average Australian's obsession with safety and his reluctance to stand up to politicians and demand they do what they were voted in to do - and often what they said they would do, but didn't. The poor quality of Australian politicians affects everything, not just Covid. It's not the Covid that is the danger, it's the way that idiots have mishandled it, and are continuing to mishandled it because of their massive egos and unwillingness to admit fault. Only voters can do something about that, but they they don't, and probably never will. The old image of Australians as tough, independent, and brave went out the door when we had multiculturalism and mass immigration foisted on us. (That last bit is likely off topic).

It has been very obvious to anyone who looked dispassionately at the data that lockdowns don't work in the medium term and are having a massive negative impact on current society and future prosperity.

As I've shown previously, studies comparing broadly similar jurisdictions with differing lockdown responses have shown that lockdowns don't result in lower death rates. If you compare US states that locked down heavily and for extended periods with those that didn't, the later had lower death rates. A similar situation applies in regards to the EU member states.

In Australia, the whole thing became a competition between the states with the only criteria being deaths attributed to the virus. No state leader had the gumption to buck the trend and lift their lockdowns because they knew that each death thereafter would be attributed by a baying press to the raised lockdown. Yet the number of deaths has been really quite minor.

In 2019 flu/pneumonia killed over 4000 people. We've now had two seasons of WuFlu with just over 1000 deaths. So eight times more people die of flu but there isn't a murmur about that.

The lockdowns have been a disaster for the economy and the future economic well-being of the nation. They've been a disaster for children's education. They've been a disaster on the domestic violence front. Businesses destroyed. Livelihoods wreaked. Freedoms lost. Centuries old liberties upended. And so much more.

All because of an hysterical response to a very manageable infection. Generations of Australians are going to rue, and continue ruing, the governmental decisions of the last two years.

The latest research suggests that having previously had the WuFlu is better at combating the Indian strain than the Pfizer vaccine. But given the efforts to actively discourage previous infection few are so protected.

Additionally, there is now a new variant coming out of South Africa which is said to be even more infectious than the Indian variant AND maybe resistant to any of the vaccines.

If true, where does that leave the policy of putting the entire state under house arrest pending vaccination?

Dear mhaze,

Well you are nothing if not persistent with your conflating low Covid deaths with risk.

We both know how intellectually dishonest this is but yet you continue gaily onward.

Just imagine Australia's history being dictated by you, the 15 ships the NSW government put into typhus quarantine between 1837 and 1841 would have instead been allowed to dock, the lepers would not have isolated into their own institutions and Jenner would have been run out of town for promoting a cowpox alternative to full blown small pox.

The mhaze of the day would have proclaimed that the full blown small pox variety gave better immunity therefore should be left to run its course.

Do you realise how utterly history denying, immoral and stupid your stance is?

As to lockdowns not working go tell that to Western Australians for one.

Another advocate for the 'Death by Covid' policy.
- Sorry my mistake 'Living with Covid' policy.
(Obviously for some living with Covid WILL MEAN DEATH')

Tell me Michael Tomlinson, have you or you colleagues come up with a cure for death yet?

You should stand down from your positions.
Human Research Ethics Committee
Do you even know what ethics is?
http://ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-the-harm-principle/
You lack the basic qualifications or knowledge to hold that position.

National Institute of Integrative Medicine
Here's Craig Kelly pointing out that the TGA itself says there is no long term safety data for Pfizer, and furthermore it's effectiveness against Delta has never been assessed.
http://twitter.com/wong_do_mein888/status/1432328247757336581

If you're not for suppression, then you must be for vaccines.
Well it's not going to work, that's going to backfire badly.
All you people advising are a bunch of idiots.
It's going to backfire because the vaccinated can still be infected,
- But the vaccinated are not going to get tested or self isolate, so you can expect this thing to get a whole lot worse and a lot more deaths yet.

You academic know-nothings have destroyed the whole entire country with your clueless bs.

Whinge, whinge, whine, whine, "we hate the lockdowns".
Well your leaders failed you, and your state countrymen failed you.
And you have failed everyone with your crap attitude.

I hope you stay in lockdown forever.
That's what you get for being so selfish and spreading your shite to the rest of the country.
Now my state is going to be ruined because of people LIKE YOU.
I haven't even had a covid test yet.
The most we had in hard lockdown was 3 days.
Why should my state pay for the mess your state created?
Kerry Chant's telling us were going to need booster shots forever.

You idiots in Melbourne predicted Sydney Delta would be down to 5 cases by now.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-24/nsw-covid-lockdown-end-date-pedicted-by-mathematical-models/100315538
"The first, from the University of Melbourne's Populations Intervention Unit shows Sydney's 14-day average number of new cases could be brought down to five by around August 28.
Clueless.

I've had it with you people.

SR,

I deny it.

When those ships came into Sydney in the 1830's I was completely in favour of quarantining them and recommended the vaccine. Now, I do admit that I got it wrong when the Black Plague came through in 1347.

SR writes (rather hilariously): "Do you realise how utterly history denying, immoral and stupid your stance is?"

Do you realise that you just made up that 'stance'. Just made it up and then told me how wrong I was to think something I never thought.

What HAVE you been reduced to.

Dear Michael,
Thanks for writing such a clear and concise article.
The observational population study by Kephart et al can be criticized for the lack of any proper control group. The study does not take into account the natural tendency of viral respiratory infections to rise and fall during an epidemic. The fact that a reduction in population mobility coincided with a short term reduction in infection rates does not prove that the reduction in mobility was the cause of the reduction in the infection rate. Co-incidence does not prove causation.
Kind regards,
James.