610 Results

  • Monitoring CO2 indoors for improving ventilation as a Covid-19 control tool

    … Poor ventilation in indoor settings is widely recognised as a risk factor for the airborne transmission of the virus … we discuss how to use carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) measures as a proxy for estimating the level of ventilation in a … of the monitor is critical in obtaining reliable data [5]. A momentarily high value (breathing on the monitor) is …
    Briefing

  • The strong case for mask requirements in public transportation and border control settings in NZ’s current COVID-19 pandemic context

    … costs (especially if the Government provides free masks as per Hong Kong), such a policy should be given very serious … by health authorities in the transition to level 2.   As detailed in a previous blog post, the case for mass … practices (such as hand washing and physical distancing) [5]. Face masks are a visible sign of the ongoing pandemic and …
    Briefing

  • Australia’s Quarantine Systems Failures: Lessons for NZ

    … an underestimate of all actual quarantine failures, as not all of those infected will transmit the virus and … and defined. We defined a quarantine system failure as where a border/health worker or person in the community … infection rates were halved for the AstraZeneca vaccine, 4 5 and perhaps reduced by 70% for the Moderna mRNA vaccine. 6 …
    Briefing

  • Update on Long-COVID

    … initially infected with the pandemic virus, SARS-CoV-2. As things stand now across the world, we do not yet have … may be unique in the annals of medicine inasmuch as it was first described by sufferers rather than physicians … clear by the number of research groups — at least seven 5-11 — who have attempted definitions but with little …
    Briefing

  • Proposed vaping regulations for NZ: Strengths and limitations

    … 23 February.  The Bill contains some important provisions as it works to strike a balance between ensuring regulated … vaping uptake. In this blog, we discuss the provisions, as summarised in the Ministry of Health’s Factsheet , and … may know little about the vape products they sell. 5 Limiting the flavour range these retailers may sell does …
    Briefing

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

    … who have used elimination approaches in the past, such as Australia, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The cumulative … had previously used border controls to manage Covid-19. As of 9 May 2022, NZ has reported ~826 deaths from Covid-19. As we have discussed previously , NZ has managed through a …
    Briefing

  • The urgent need for a Covid-19 Action Plan for Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand

    … a policy for schools that was essentially a business-as-usual approach, advising that schools would stay open … approach that takes in-school transmission seriously. As winter arrives, NZ should urgently introduce a Covid-19 … These assurances seemed overly optimistic. Children aged 5-11 years only became eligible for their first vaccine dose …
    Briefing

  • To ensure success of the trans-Tasman travel “green zone”, we need to reduce system failures at the NZ border

    … in Australia [1] and its economic indicators, such as GDP impacts, also compare favourably to countries using a … workers, border workers and indeed the whole “Team of 5 million”. However, an upcoming challenge is to ensure that … travel between NZ and Australia (also known as a “green zone”), works well. This green zone means that …
    Briefing

  • Dementia: Update on causes and prevention, including the role of COVID-19

    … disease, and especially its manifestation as dementia, as an inevitable consequence of ageing. However, as with all … there is a degree of overlap in their manifestations [ 4,5] and they share some pathologic changes in neuronal …
    Briefing

  • Smoking denormalization and tobacco endgames

    … of our everyday lives by defining what practices we view as acceptable (or not) and how we feel others perceive us.[1] Norms lead us to modify our behaviour as we move from one setting or social role to another; for example, the roles we play at home, as a parent or partner, vary from those we perform at work or …
    Briefing

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Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)