With the roll-out of a Covid-19 vaccine gathering steam across New Zealand, here’s a quick explainer on what goes into it and how it works. Support the Spinoff by becoming a Member – and score a Toby Morris tea towel. Who is getting vaccinated? First on the list to be offered the vaccine are the … Read more
With the roll-out of a Covid-19 vaccine gathering steam across New Zealand, here’s a quick explainer on what goes into it and how it works. Support the Spinoff by becoming a Member – and score a Toby Morris tea towel. Who is getting vaccinated? First on the list to be offered the vaccine are the … Read more
Today the NZ vaccination programme begins in earnest, with the first doses provided to border workers. Why is that so important? Siouxsie and Toby spell it out, cheesily. With the arrival of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine into New Zealand and the start of the roll-out to our border and isolation/quarantine workers and their families, we now … Read more
The scarcity of Covid-19 cases in New Zealand allows our formidable scientists to learn things you simply can’t in places where the virus is widespread. This helps us not just strengthen our controls but contribute to the world’s understanding. The new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand remain a bit of a mystery. Fortunately, … Read more
Three new community cases of Covid-19 and an unknown source have plunged Auckland into lockdown and the rest of the country into alert level two. Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles tackles some of the critical questions we now face. Could we be looking at a situation as worrying as last August in Auckland? Yes. Like in August, … Read more
Our understanding of the way Covid-19 is transmitted from person to person has changed a lot since the pandemic began. A year in, here’s what we now know. It’s just over a year since the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised its highest alarm over Covid-19, declaring it a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). … Read more
Is it plausible that the new cases contracted in the Pullman hotel in Auckland were transmitted via pipes? Here’s what the science tells us. As the investigation to determine how three people became infected with Covid-19 during their stay in New Zealand’s managed isolation and quarantine system gets away, it is worth considering a few … Read more
At least three new, more contagious Covid variants have been spreading around the world. Here’s how they emerge and why. Let’s start with the basics. The genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Covid-19 is a strand of RNA made up of almost 30,000 nucleotides. Those nucleotides – adenine, cytosine, guanine, and uracil – … Read more
The experience in the Brazilian city of Manaus reveals how mistaken, and dangerous, the herd-immunity-by-infection theory really is. As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed … Read more
The new variants of the virus can spread like wildfire, and all of us have a role to play in keeping them out of the community. I have to admit, when I first heard UK prime minister Boris Johnson talking about a new, more transmissible strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, part of … Read more
The speed at which Sydney’s new Covid-19 outbreak has spread should be a lesson in the dangers of complacency, says Siouxsie Wiles. With news of a new strain of the Covid-19 virus spreading in the UK, it looks like Australia’s Christmas plans are also up in the air with a new cluster of cases in … Read more
A new, more infectious strain of the Covid-19 virus has reportedly emerged in the UK, prompting the prime minister, Boris Johnson, to announce new restrictions to try to curb its spread. Dr Siouxsie Wiles explains. Let’s start with the basics. The genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Covid-19 is a strand of RNA … Read more
New Zealand has agreed to buy four Covid-19 vaccines, in volumes that are more than enough for everyone in New Zealand and for some of our Pacific neighbours too. Siouxsie Wiles on what yesterday’s announcement means, and what comes next. First a quick recap. There are lots of different ways to design a vaccine, which … Read more
Boris Johnson has announced that the Pfizer vaccine will be distributed from next week. How did that happen, and are they cutting corners? Siouxsie Wiles explains. The UK has become the first country in the world to approve a Covid-19 vaccine. It’s an emergency approval but means they’re likely to start vaccinating people in a … Read more
A new New Zealand study offers some important lessons on how the coronavirus can spread aboard an aircraft. One of the good things about New Zealand pursuing an elimination strategy for Covid-19 (aside from the obvious) is that we are able to help answer some of the questions there are about how the SARS-CoV-2 virus … Read more
Take a 19th century German scientist, a 21st century disease and add the internet: the result is a dangerous upsurge in Covid-denial nonsense, writes Siouxsie Wiles. I’ve had quite a few messages from people who believe they have evidence that Covid-19, or more specifically the virus responsible, SARS-CoV-2, doesn’t exist. They even believe they have … Read more
Siouxsie Wiles explains why she immunises, and the commitment you make to the community when you do. My daughter was just a few days old when she received her first vaccination. She was born in a part of London where the BCG vaccine was routinely given to newborns to protect them from tuberculosis. Holding her … Read more
How would this promised Pfizer vaccine get from the factory to being administered? Does this mean we can stop doing things to stop Covid-19 transmission? And what does 90% effective really mean? Siouxsie Wiles takes on some important questions around this promising development. It’s all go on the Covid vaccine front this week. While the … Read more
The effort to defeat the coronavirus relies on many layers of defence. Or, let’s call them, slices of cheese. One thing that has really irked me during Covid-19 has been the labelling of any mistake in our systems or any unexpected transmission of the virus as a failure. Yes, I understand that the media and … Read more
A small but vocal movement calling for the end of lockdown restrictions is gaining steam globally. Dr Siouxsie Wiles explains why such an approach would be a bad idea. As life in Aotearoa gets back to some kind of normal after our latest Covid-19 outbreak, cases in the northern hemisphere are on the rise again … Read more
The government has signed its first binding agreement to secure a Covid-19 vaccine. But what exactly is the vaccine, who’s likely to get it and when? Siouxsie Wiles talks us through it. This week the New Zealand government announced it has signed its first binding agreement to secure a Covid-19 vaccine. If everything goes according … Read more
The case of a person who tested positive almost a week after leaving managed isolation has highlighted the need to keep tracking those who have been through MIQ, writes Siouxsie Wiles. Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health reported a case of Covid-19 in Auckland that is not related to the current Auckland cluster. Before … Read more
Misinformation about the effectiveness of the test is swirling, but in fact the PCR is both reliable and critical in taking on the virus, explains Siouxsie Wiles. I’ve been asked by several people in recent days whether there is any truth to a video about the Covid-19 PCR test that is currently doing the rounds … Read more
Don’t approach the task as a battle to be won, but as a conversation to get to the underlying reasons why someone might have been susceptible to the false information in the first place. Last week marked six months since the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic. How the world has changed in that time. Here … Read more
It’s likely you’re being exposed to masses of Covid information on a daily basis, and not all of it will be reliable. Here are some tips for telling the difference, and stopping the spread. Thanks to Covid-19, most of us have a new word in our vocabulary. Epidemiology: the branch of medical science that deals … Read more
With over 24 million confirmed cases and more than 820,000 people dead, Covid-19 is playing out differently in various parts of the world. To understand this a little better, Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris walk you through the Covid-19 ‘triangle’. Since this pandemic started, I’ve been getting lots of messages from people and hearing an … Read more
Different countries are pursuing different strategies for taking on Covid-19. Despite the re-emergence of the virus, and the sacrifices our response demands, it remains absolutely the best approach for us, writes Siouxsie Wiles. Here in Aotearoa, we’re playing Covid-19 in “elimination” mode. Some countries are trying “suppression” mode, while others are running with what seems … Read more
A range of new measures are under consideration, covering the border, isolation and testing. Siouxsie Wiles assesses the options, and the opposition proposals. Because we don’t have widespread community transmission of Covid-19 in New Zealand, our response managing our border and responding to any outbreaks will also help the rest of the world understand more … Read more
With the re-emergence of Covid-19 in Aotearoa, here’s a reminder of what some of the most important epidemiology terms we’re hearing actually mean. Contacts Let’s start with close and casual contacts. A contact is basically a person who has had some kind of encounter with someone who has or is suspected of having Covid-19. People … Read more