Helen Petousis Harris • Apr 07, 2021 •
As we roll out the COVID-19 vaccine across NZ there will inevitably be people who experience adverse events after getting their jab. Here are some super important things to keep in mind about adverse events following immunisation. I will update this blog as we go along. Terminology – words matter Any event that is undesirable and follows administration … Read More
Public Health Expert • Mar 18, 2021 •
Nick Wilson, Matt Boyd, Osman D Mansoor, Louise Delany, Michael G Baker With effective vaccines for COVID-19 comes the potential for disease eradication (elimination at the global level). Here we consider the advantages and the challenges, but ultimately suggest consideration of progressive expansion of “green zones” towards a target of COVID-19 eradication. Even if eradication is not achieved, establishing and … Read More
Guest Author • Mar 17, 2021 •
Anthony R Cox, University of Birmingham The arrival of effective vaccines against COVID-19 has been one of the few good news stories of the pandemic. However, communicating the safety of vaccines has long been difficult, as shown by most countries having some level of vaccine hesitancy, including hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines specifically. Just as regulatory authorities – such … Read More
Helen Petousis Harris • Jan 16, 2021 •
(updated 18 Jan to reflect new information) Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 29 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine … Read More
Sarb Johal • Nov 10, 2020 •
I woke up this morning to great news. Pzifer and BioNTech announced in a press release that their vaccine candidate against Covid-19 achieved success in their first interim analysis from their Phase 3 study. Here’s the headline bullet points of what they found: Vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants … Read More
Helen Petousis Harris • Sep 09, 2020 •
Today AstraZeneca pushed the pause button on its late-stage trials of a COVID-19 vaccine. A clinical trial participant has experienced a serious health event and an investigation is underway to determine the cause. What does it mean? A cautious approach – trials can halt to assess safety data With over 200 COVID-19 vaccines now under development … Read More
Helen Petousis Harris • May 12, 2020 •
Five months into the COVID-19 pandemic the conversation is shifting to vaccines. One of the key concerns voiced by some experts and public are that in the rush to get vaccines deployed, safety will be compromised. Here I outline, in part, the COVID-19 vaccine safety landscape of activities. First, let me introduce you to some of the key entities tasked … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 24, 2020 •
Becky Casale After weeks of lockdown, people are starting to wonder about the long term exit plan for coronavirus. When can we get back to the workplace? When can we go out to restaurants? When can we party? In short, when will social distancing end? In New Zealand, we are one of the few nations able to toy with the … Read More