Actually seems like a very level headed guy. His record at the FDA is better than I would have expected from someone with such deep industry ties but it looks

Actually seems like a very level headed guy. His record at the FDA is better than I would have expected from someone with such deep industry ties but it looks like he took the job to heart and did it well. At this point with the rate Omicron has been spreading here in Australia I don't think masks are making much/any difference anymore - seems like this variant is just off the charts w.r.t transmissibility. Vaccine mandates though I think make sense for the same reason we have mandated immunization in Australia for many other diseases. Unlike somewhere like the US you can't attend a school (any school, not just public schools) without the appropriate vaccines or a medical diagnosis exempting you. So a vaccine mandate for Covid-19 isn't really anything new here. Despite that there is now some political debate about it because we seem to have imported a lot of US hysteria the last decade or two. Vaccine mandate will help keep herd immunity maintained which reduces deaths among those that actually can't get the vaccine rather than just anti-vax nonsense.