Duncan Garner: Government's latest struggle with truth exposed

OPINION: Despite the stoic, brave, 'nothing to see here' face that the Government is putting on when it comes to the vaccination roll-out, it's clear we've been on a go-slow - because we have had no choice. 

We have vaccinated at snail's pace. It's just the Government hasn't wanted you to know that. It breaks the narrative that it's doing a great job.

As the world burned in a second wave of COVID hell over the first half of the year and because we supposedly did not have COVID, we missed out on getting all the vaccines we were meant to get.

Front of the queue, as the Government claimed, was suddenly somewhere near the back of the line because we weren't dying of COVID.

Vaccines destined to NZ clearly ended up in places where the need was desperate.

But the Government has been slow to tell us this. It's much easier to set its vaccination targets low and achieve them, giving us the impression that all is well. 

Well, it's not. Award-winning Newshub investigative journalist Michael Morrah has once again exposed the folly of this Government's latest struggle with the truth.

The Government said on Wednesday it was 9 percent ahead of vaccinations targets - that is a meaningless statement and it's misleading. This is a damn pandemic - drop the spin.

Truth is of all people aged over 65 just 4 percent have had their first jab and an estimated 50,000 people, the household members of border and MIQ workers, have also not even had their first shot.

Dr Ashley Bloomfield says he is happy with the progress. He has to say that and back up the Government. 

Truth is COVID-19 Minister Chris Hipkins is the minister who has been the closest minister to getting anywhere near telling the truth when he said we'd always like to do better.

Our world-leading COVID advantage is slipping away. Others have caught up, they're travelling, they're living, they're opening-up.  Britain is 39 percent vaccinated, America is 41 percent.

We are no longer world-leading - sometimes we just gotta suck up the inconvenient truth.

Duncan Garner hosts The AM Show.