i would disagree with that one - most overseas countries with high vaccination rates have “
restrictions” (equivalent to Level 2 here) not “
lockdowns” (equivalent to level 3/4 here). Eg look to Europe/UK where fully vaccinated rates are ~70%+ and they have mask protocols etc, but all retail/hospitality venues are open.
Going to “restrictions” only (with countermeasures like isolation for close contacts/contact tracing remaining in place for outbreaks) once we get to a sufficiently high vaccination rate is the endgame and always has been for New Zealand: elimination was the goal to avoid overwhelming health system, and vaccinations replace lockdowns in doing that job of not overwhelming the health system once we get to a high enough rate.
it makes perfect sense when you see data like the charts below (and this is from USA where vaccination rate is a comparatively low 53% fully vaccinated).
Attachment 12956