653 Results

  • When the first barrier fails: Strengthening protection for drinking water sources

    … Summary Safe, good quality drinking water is a foundation of public health. The first, and most significant, barrier … drinking water contamination and illness is the protection of source water. Source water refers to the bodies of water … drinking water standard for nitrate. The breach revealed a failure to protect the community’s source water from …
    Briefing

  • What we would like to see on the Ministry of Health’s website to better inform progress on COVID-19 elimination

    … In this blog we analyse data from the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 website and display a key graph that we … travellers may have left self-isolation after the onset of symptoms and before their case was reported. Improving the … 1 Aircrew or airport staff, ship crews or seaport staff Failure of border quarantine systems         People who were …
    Briefing

  • Covid-19 vaccines still protect us: How do we get the best out of them?

    … in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) with repeated waves of infection associated with newly evolved Omicron … evidence of differences across variants in self-reported symptoms. Hence, the XBB.1.5 updated vaccine was less … decreased likelihood of ≥1 symptom (adjusted OR=0.66) ≥2 symptoms (aOR=0.52), and respiratory symptoms (OR 0.53). 21 A …
    Briefing

  • Throwing open the windows: The need for ventilation improvements as part of Covid-19 outbreak control in Aotearoa

    … The importance of indoor aerosol transmission of the virus that causes … reports of improved sleep, and fewer “sick building” symptoms [13]. There is an urgent need for the Ministry of … MIQ facility [28]. This might have been part of one single failure at the Pullman facility (ie, a super-spreading event …
    Briefing

  • Testing for COVID-19 in NZ to achieve the elimination goal

    … testing to both identify cases in the community as part of the COVID-19 elimination strategy, and to confirm when the … of symptomatic cases appear to have relatively mild symptoms [4] and possibly around a half of infected people have no symptoms at all (based on: cruise ship data [5], and a report …
    Briefing

  • Parliamentary voting for smokefree over two decades: Implications for future progress

    … Summary  The recent repeal of a key law to reduce the enormous health and economic … equity, and economic tragedy. It occurred despite evidence of strong support for the key measures among the public.  To … the Greens and Te Pāti Māori voted consistently in support of progressive smokefree legislation. The National Party …
    Briefing

  • Preparing for Omicron: A proactive Government response is urgently needed to minimise harms

    … could improve preparations for a likely national outbreak of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 to minimise harms to … in NZ. Analysis of previous border failures indicates a failure occurring every 100-200 cases in MIQ [1], although … they should have including pharmaceuticals to manage symptoms; Guidance to minimise transmission in the household, …
    Briefing

  • Mortality declines in Aotearoa NZ during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic

    … In this blog we review the impact of Aotearoa NZ’s Covid-19 response strategies on mortality … records also expose swollen numbers of deaths from heart disease, hypertension, dementia and other ailments … data also indicates less reports of influenza-like illness symptoms such as fever and cough in the NZ population for the …
    Briefing

  • Poor ventilation in public transport settings in Aotearoa NZ: New data for buses and trains

    … transmission risk. In buses and trains with more than 50% of seats occupied, ventilation was typically poor 94% and 77% of the time respectively (CO 2  levels above 800 ppm). These and other NZ findings (eg, from a 2022 study of Wellington’s Metlink buses) are consistent with …
    Briefing

  • Urgent measures needed to allow the safe re-opening of Auckland schools

    … In this blog we describe the range of urgent measures that are needed to facilitate a safe … of young children with COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms. Since the beginning of the Delta outbreak in NZ, … in order to be workable and equitable. Schools are at the heart of our communities. Improving child wellbeing by …
    Briefing

Subscribe

Briefing CTA

Public Health Expert Briefing

Get the latest insights from the public health research community delivered straight to your inbox for free. Subscribe to stay up to date with the latest research, analysis and commentary from the Public Health Expert Briefing.

PHCC logo PHCC

The PHCC is funded by a philanthropic endowment from the Gama Foundation and hosted by the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington.

Contact

Email phcc@phcc.org.nz
43 Hanson Street, Mt Cook, 
Wellington | Te Whanganui-a-Tara
PO Box 7343, Wellington South 6242
New Zealand | Aotearoa

 

Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)