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
New Zealand’s public health infrastructure has swung wildly between comprehensive and chaos over the past century. Preventive and social medicine expert Dr Warwick Brunton says there’s never been a better time to learn from the past and reimagine public health in Aotearoa. Anxieties about significant rundown of public health capacity in the Ministry of Health … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: What we know – and what we don’t – about the Covid-19 community cases; an America’s Cup spat threatens how Aucklanders can watch; and late election donations are revealed. It’s now been five days since we learnt that Covid-19 was back in the community, and the missing … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Auckland drops down to alert level two, poor government communications create huge queues for testing, and eyebrows raised at US ambassador dodging quarantine facilities. Ready or not, the country’s largest city is as of this morning at alert level two. It’s fair enough to ask whether … Read more
With the shine starting to come off the government’s Covid response, the opposition must abandon baseless speculation for a laser focus on failure and accountability, argues Ben Thomas. The fresh outbreak of Covid-19 in Auckland last week was a shock to the public. But it should have been manna from heaven for political parties campaigning … Read more
Something very big is missing from the proposed overhaul of our health system, writes Professor Boyd Swinburn. The long-awaited Simpson review of our health sector makes a powerful call to refocus the system on creating better health outcomes through prevention. But something very big is missing. The focus is on the healthcare institutions themselves, like … Read more
The strain of the experience, writes a returning NZ citizen, is compounded by the opprobrium. Over recent days I have been struggling psychologically with the experience of returning home. Not only the experience of being detained, which while of course necessary is no easier for it, but particularly the experience of being the subject of … Read more
The World Health Organisation pulled its support for acupuncture in 2014. The Ministry of Health has found barely any evidence of its efficacy. So why is ACC still paying out millions for acupuncture treatment? This investigation is made possible by Spinoff Members. To support independent, homegrown journalism, donate today. There are about 650 practitioners of … Read more
An Australian technology expert looks at the pros and cons of New Zealand’s contact tracing app, and compares it with the Australian version, COVIDSafe. New Zealanders finally have access to the government’s new tracing app to help people monitor their movements as lockdown continues to ease. As businesses can now open, the NZ COVID Tracer … Read more
The lockdown might be over, but the strange obsession with New Zealand’s director general of health is not. Tara Ward scoured the internet in search of Bloomfield-inspired works of art. Heroes save us when we’re in trouble, like when Chris Warner rescued everyone at Shortland Street when it was under siege, or the time Jason … Read more
The 1pm briefing has become appointment viewing. But it is no substitute for transparent, timely information, even in such extraordinary times, writes Newshub investigations reporter Michael Morrah in this post originally published on Newshub. Like all journalists in New Zealand right now, I’ve been covering stories day after day, all of which relate to our … Read more
If and when New Zealand exits alert level four and its restrictions, contact tracing becomes the most important tool we have to prevent having to lockdown all over again. So what does it involve, and are we doing enough of it? Just quickly – what is contact tracing? Contact tracing is what happens to determine … Read more
A month ago, not many had heard of Ashley Bloomfield. But as the Covid-19 response has ramped up, the director-general of health has become a calm, reassuring presence in a time of uncertainty and fear. Rachel Thomas profiles him, in a piece first published on RNZ. Today, Saturday, director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield is … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Covid case numbers rise again, modelling shows the toll taking no action could have had, and warnings of logistical crunch at ports. As the number of cases of Covid-19 rises into the hundreds, clusters are starting to emerge. There are now 283 cases, with seven people … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: MFAT advice to NZers overseas changes, parliamentary scrutiny to continue amid adjournment, and an essential piece to read on the shutdown rules. As of yesterday, the message to New Zealanders overseas has changed. Last week, foreign minister Winston Peters warned those who wanted to return that … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Border closed to all non-NZers with limited exceptions, facing the economic implications of that decision, and new rules on gatherings released. As of midnight last night, the border of New Zealand is closed to those who aren’t permanent residents or citizens, with very limited exceptions. In … Read more
In light of Covid-19’s new pandemic status, the Ministry of Health gave an update this afternoon on New Zealand’s status and measures being taken. For the fifth consecutive day, there have been no new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand. The numbers remain at five confirmed and two probable. Director-general at the Ministry of Health, … Read more
New Zealand’s first case of Covid-19 has just been confirmed. Here’s what we know so far. What’s the latest? Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed New Zealand’s first case of Covid-19 coronavirus. New Zealand is the 48th country to have a confirmed case of the virus. What do we know about the patient? The patient … Read more
While the meth testing scheme has been proven to be a rort, the dangers of lead contamination in homes is still very real. Environmental scientist Tim Muller explains. In case you missed it, the prime minister’s chief science advisor (PMCSA) recently released a damning report into the meth testing and remediation industry. The gist is … Read more
As part of our series on the midwifery crisis, The Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes asked midwives to share what’s gone wrong, and how they believe the crisis can be solved. It’s coming up to a year since I interviewed dozens of midwives about their experiences working in one of the toughest, most under-paid and … Read more