Thank you, Queensland. But this year, I must ask you for one thing

We’ve demonstrated we’re capable of handling this disease and the vaccine will be a life-saver once it’s fully rolled out later this year.

Of course, two jabs in the arm won’t end the pandemic.

As long as COVID-19 is in circulation somewhere in the world – whatever the variant – we need to be wary.

But cautious optimism has replaced the dread I felt 12 months ago.

On January 29, 2020, I was informed that Queensland had its first case, a 44-year-old man who had travelled from Wuhan in central China, the epicentre of this mysterious disease.

A pandemic isn’t a slow burn. It’s more like a wildfire.

The international medical community became aware of a new virus emerging from China in the final days of 2019.

On January 10, 2020, I…