Michael Baker crawls out of his hole to peddle more covid bullshit

There I was, halfway through a perfectly cold Panhead Sandman, when up pops Michael Baker on the screen, the ever-reliable government mouthpiece, ranting about a so-called “surge” in Covid cases and a new, supposedly more infectious subvariant. Another dose of fear straight from the same person who helped bring us months of lockdowns, mandates, and one of the most aggressive vaccine campaigns in the world.

Baker, once Jacinda Ardern’s go-to “epidemiologist” during the height of the pandemic, is back in the headlines warning us to “take action.” Funny how that phrase always ends up meaning more compliance, more shots, and more control. This is the same man who stood in front of the country and told us that the vaccine would protect us and those around us. Spoiler alert, it didn’t. Not only did the vaccine fail to stop transmission, but for many people, it came with side effects that were brushed under the rug in the name of public health.

Now, we’re being told that a new subvariant, NB.1.8.1, is sweeping across China, Hong Kong, and Australia, and is starting to show up here in New Zealand too. ESR wastewater testing as of May 11 suggests it's already making up over 21% of detections. Naturally, Baker is using that number to dust off his microphone and resume his role as the government’s unelected Minister of Panic.

It’s been nearly a year since the last so-called “wave,” and most Kiwis had hoped we’d moved on. But Baker and his ilk seem determined to drag us back into pandemic mode, the same people who insisted we inject ourselves multiple times with an experimental vaccine under the illusion that it would end the crisis.

The vaccine didn’t deliver what was promised. It didn’t stop infection. It didn’t stop transmission. And yet we’re still expected to take people like Michael Baker seriously, the same man who helped spin the narrative for a government that used fear to coerce compliance and silence dissent.

So when Baker shows up again to warn us about rising Covid levels, forgive some of us for rolling our eyes. We’ve heard this story before. We’ve lived through the consequences. And we’re not so eager to line up for another round of failed promises and top-down control disguised as science.

Michael, go fuck yourself.