It is all about location, location, location.
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For the last 12 months most Australians have been in the right location as we missed the worst of the pandemic at home. The closure of international borders is one of the reasons our Covid numbers were far lower than other countries. Prime Minister Scott Morrison came out today and warned Australians that opening the borders could see cases rise to 1000 a day. It is looking less likely that those borders will open this year and the PM clearly wants us to get used to that idea.
Australians can head overseas, just not to many destinations. Airlines are ready for the trans-Tasman take-off and Tasmania is technically overseas, if not a little chilly.
The vaccine was briefly mentioned in the PM's radio interview this morning. He thinks "there's been a bit of a pile-on about the vaccine". But the reality is we are in the wrong location when it comes to Covid vaccination roll outs. The Guardian Australia's analysis of data from Our World in Data found that Australia is 100th in the world for the number of Covid-19 vaccinations administered for every hundred residents. Nepal, Cambodia and Azerbaijan are above us in the global vaccine ladder.
Australia's vaccine rollout was already behind schedule before the advice was changed on the AstraZeneca jab for the under 50s. News of another potential blood clot (and first Australian death) linked to that vaccine will cause more anxiety but NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned against rushing to conclusions. The NSW Premier also reiterated her enthusiasm to receive her second AstraZeneca jab in early June.
"It has not yet been established whether there is any link between the COVID-19 vaccine and the tragic death reported by NSW health officials," the Therapeutic Goods Administration said in a statement overnight.
And while on the subject of location, the Federal Court has found Google breached Australian consumer law by misleading privacy-conscious Australians into thinking it wasn't collecting personal data about their location. "We think today's result sends a very clear message to the digital platforms that they have to be upfront with consumers about what is actually happening with their data, how it is being used and how consumers can protect their data," Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims said.
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