Tagged: COVID-19

Featured image: Covid-19 Case-Fatality Risk & Infection-Fatality Risk – important measures to help guide the pandemic response

Covid-19 Case-Fatality Risk & Infection-Fatality Risk – important measures to help guide the pandemic response - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • May 11, 2022 •

Dr Jennifer Summers, Professor Michael Baker, Professor Nick Wilson* Summers J, Baker M, Wilson N. Covid-19 Case-Fatality Risk & Infection-Fatality Risk: important measures to help guide the pandemic response. Public Health Expert Blog. 11 May 2022. In this blog we explore two useful mortality indicators: Case-Fatality Risk (CFR) and Infection-Fatality Risk (IFR). We estimate the cumulative CFR in Aotearoa New … Read More

Featured image: The Omicron waves – Comparing Aotearoa NZ and Australia in four key graphs

The Omicron waves – Comparing Aotearoa NZ and Australia in four key graphs - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Apr 12, 2022 •

Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker, Prof Nick Wilson* Summers J, Baker M, Wilson N. The Omicron waves – Comparing Aotearoa NZ and Australia in four key graphs. Public Health Expert Blog. 12 April 2022. In this blog we explore the first Covid-19 Omicron variant waves in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). We find that Australia’s first Omicron wave … Read More

Featured image: Covid-19 Hospitalisations Now Peaking in Aotearoa NZ – But Key Covid-19 Control Measures Still Need to be Maintained

Covid-19 Hospitalisations Now Peaking in Aotearoa NZ – But Key Covid-19 Control Measures Still Need to be Maintained - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Mar 21, 2022 •

Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker* In this blog we present hospitalisation data for Covid-19 suggesting that the numbers are now peaking across the country. To date, the peak burden of hospitalisations and ICU admissions in NZ has been lower than the peaks in Australia. Although various Covid-19 control measures are being de-escalated, we detail reasons why … Read More

Featured image: Longer-term harm from Covid-19 in children: The evidence suggests greater efforts are needed to protect children in Aotearoa NZ from infection

Longer-term harm from Covid-19 in children: The evidence suggests greater efforts are needed to protect children in Aotearoa NZ from infection - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Mar 09, 2022 •

Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Dr Anna Brooks, Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Julie Bennett, Dr Jennifer Summers, Carmen Timu-Parata, Dr Cervantée Wild, Belinda Tuari-Toma, Constanza Jackson, Prof Michael Baker* Longer-term (or ‘post-acute effects’) of Covid-19 in children (including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children [MIS-C] and long Covid) are well-described. But there is a lack of robust evidence about the prevalence of these … Read More

Featured image: No, catching Omicron is not ‘inevitable’ – here’s why we should all still avoid the virus

No, catching Omicron is not ‘inevitable’ – here’s why we should all still avoid the virus - COVID-19

Guest Author • Mar 09, 2022 •

David Welch, University of Auckland and Nigel French, Massey University Aotearoa New Zealand has entered new COVID territory, characterised by high vaccination rates but also the rapid spread of the Omicron variant and rising numbers of hospitalisations. As we approach the peak of this wave, some have suggested it would be better to drop remaining public health measures, … Read More

Featured image: Ventilation in NZ schools during the Omicron wave – results from a preliminary study

Ventilation in NZ schools during the Omicron wave – results from a preliminary study - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Feb 28, 2022 •

Dr Julie Bennett, Dr Tim Chambers and Dr Caroline Shorter* Ventilation is a key and relatively underutilised public health measure that can reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission. Last year we outlined the need for adequate ventilation in schools and highlighted the need for nationwide ventilation surveillance. In this blog we provide an overview of the results of carbon dioxide … Read More

Featured image: Air hygiene: how re-thinking air quality will help protect us from this and the next pandemic

Air hygiene: how re-thinking air quality will help protect us from this and the next pandemic - COVID-19

Guest Author • Feb 25, 2022 •

Ian David Longley, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Our complacency about indoor air contributed to our vulnerability to COVID-19, and we’ll continue to be vulnerable to COVID and other emerging threats until we re-think how we share our air. Humans are social; we need to be with each other. That’s what made us vulnerable. Our first defences against … Read More

Featured image: Strengthening Omicron mitigation strategies in Early Childhood Education settings

Strengthening Omicron mitigation strategies in Early Childhood Education settings - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Feb 24, 2022 •

Julie Bennett, Philippa Anderson, Sarah Donovan, Amanda Kvalsvig, Alison Leversha, Subhadra Rajanaidu, and Jin Russell* Aotearoa New Zealand is in a major Omicron outbreak. With Covid-19 cases doubling every few days, what opportunities are there to strengthen the mitigation approaches in early education settings? In this blog we discuss what is needed to protect this group of children and their … Read More

Featured image: Mortality declines in Aotearoa NZ during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic

Mortality declines in Aotearoa NZ during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Feb 23, 2022 •

Dr Jennifer Summers, Professor Michael Baker, Professor Nick Wilson* In this blog we review the impact of Aotearoa NZ’s Covid-19 response strategies on mortality patterns during the first 2 years of the pandemic. We find that NZ experienced an increase in life expectancy, decreased winter mortality, and net decline in (excess) mortality. These impacts are far more positive than experienced … Read More

Featured image: School anxiety in the time of COVID: how parents and teachers can help kids cope

School anxiety in the time of COVID: how parents and teachers can help kids cope - COVID-19

Guest Author • Feb 10, 2022 •

Christine Grové, Monash University and Kelly-Ann Allen, Monash University   With COVID-related school closures and long periods of remote learning, many kids across Australia have not physically been at school for most of the past two years. Because of the time away, some children might get extremely upset about going back, some might try to avoid school, while others … Read More