Now, as we start the new year, we can see where they've taken us.

The United States has roughly 13 times our population, and had about 360 times as many deaths. The United Kingdom has just over 2.5 times our population, and recorded 66 times as many deaths.

Look at it another way. Wikipedia cites the US as having the 22nd-highest death rate, at 2481 per million. The UK comes in at number 30 with 2183. Australia is 161^st, with 87 deaths per million. These are not small differences. In a horse race that's a margin of furlongs, not a head or a neck.

Among the OECD we are the 10th-most-vaccinated country. Our most vulnerable are the most protected. For the over 70s, 99 per cent have had their second dose, while for the over 50s that's near 98 per cent. Over 91 per cent of the eligible population over 16 have had their second dose.

This result is not a happy accident. It's the result of constant work by our governments, our bureaucrats and academics. The coal face has been manned by health workers and others who keep our hospitals running. Let's not forget all the people in testing stations who no doubt face the brunt of grumpy people who had to wait too long.

Has it all been straight sailing? No. Did anyone sensible expect it to be? No. Why, with a sudden pandemic spreading the globe, would anyone expect the management of it to be a plain-sailing pushover? Experts were working around the clock to keep abreast of new developments. Experts change their mind, and some disagree. It has been a moving nightmare.

As developments occur we learn, we modify our approach, and we move on.

It's sometimes hard for us to understand that when managing a moving feast, very little is perfect. The hungry media beast must be fed, so mistakes along with mere hiccoughs get blown up and repeated to us for days.

We expect the media to tell us when there's been a mistake. But I think we're sick to death of perspective being lost in the quest for a headline. By focusing so intently on the day-to-day problems, we lose sight of the bigger picture.

It just sounds so weird to talk about the failure of the vaccine rollout when we're one of the most vaccinated countries in the world. That doesn't sound like a failure, does it?

Nonetheless, not everything went to plan.

For example, we ordered a large quantity of AstraZeneca for early delivery. Its use worldwide confirms the common view it was the one to get. Hopefully we took into account that it was the vaccine where big pharma was not making a huge profit. It was good value. It turned out there was a supply delay because, not to put too fine a point on it, Europe was withholding exports. Would you really have expected that?

Then there was the frenzy among many (but not all) in the media to breathlessly report any person who became sick, or regrettably died, as a consequence of the low-risk clotting side effect of AstraZeneca. Some outlets made a meal of these unfortunate circumstances. Sometimes, some in the media seem incapable of understanding how repeating a negative message scares people. Guess what? People were thinking twice about having the jab. Our take-up was low, and plenty of vaccines went out of date.

And it wasn't just the extreme antivaxxers who were wary. I have had clots in the past, and have a separate autoimmune lung issue. Both my GP and specialist, who are excellent, assured me the side-effect clotting was different, and that I was at no more risk than anyone else. I'm not a Wimpodite, but I admit to nonetheless being very apprehensive. I was given Pfizer simply because the time between the two doses was much shorter, and then I could start other drugs sooner. Many in the media have a lot to answer for in contributing to a low initial take-up.

Initially, the logistics around Pfizer were problematic. Its transportation temperature had to be very low. Subsequently it was discovered that was unnecessarily low, and suddenly the capacity to get it around increased dramatically. Who was to know that would happen?

READ MORE:

Then from left field came an announcement from the health professionals that limited the age group to whom AstraZeneca should be given. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

When there's an evolving problem, things change. Decisions that were right a month or two ago have to be changed. Thank heavens our governments actually do respond when the information changes.

We might have all contributed to low take-up initially. Because Australia was so fortunate, many people thought it couldn't or wouldn't happen to them. Now the penny has dropped, and the vaccination rate speaks for itself.

Add on to these issues the problems created by antivaxxers. They think they have the right not to be vaccinated, but don't recognise that they don't have the right to be indifferent to infecting others. Everyone is entitled to a safe workplace. Antivaxxers ask why, if you're vaccinated, do you care if someone at your workplace isn't? Vaccination dramatically reduces but doesn't eliminate the risk of infection.

When the blitz was on in London during WWII, an antivaxxer might claim to have the right to leave their lights on and curtains open. We sometimes forget the social contract we make with each other. We all agree to choose a government to run things. We're behaving like kids if we expect perfection. We're damaging our institutions if we only focus on the dark side.

Yes, the constant changes can be extremely frustrating for citizens. Thank heavens we face First World problems - we're waiting in line too long, and the rules keep changing. Seriously? We've ended up in a great place.

We should be grateful.