What could we do, and what should we not do, to improve public health? This Blog has postings from public health experts on issues such as efficiency, equity, interventions, politics, cost effectiveness and much more.
Wednesday, October 27th, 2021 | carra86p | 1 Comment
Dr Ian Longley and Dr Julie Bennett*
Poor ventilation in indoor settings is widely recognised as a risk factor for the airborne transmission of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes Covid-19. Virus-laden aerosols can remain airborne for hours in indoor spaces with low levels of ventilation. In this blog, we discuss how to use carbon dioxide (CO2) measures as a proxy for estimating the level of ventilation in a building and to guide ventilation improvements in schools and workplaces.
Tuesday, October 26th, 2021 | carra86p | 5 Comments
Prof Mark Jermy, Dr Julie Bennett, Dr Jason Chen, Phoebe Taptiklis and Dr Caroline Shorter*
Indoor environments increase the risk of transmission for the virus that causes Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) by containment and concentration of the airborne virus. However, to reduce such transmission, the particles that carry the virus can be diluted by bringing in as much outdoor air as possible. When good ventilation is not possible, air purifiers can be used as an additional preventative measure to reduce the number of virus-laden particles. Ventilation and purification of indoor air needs to be used alongside public health measures, such as vaccination, staying home when unwell and mask use. This blog outlines some basic principles of using air purifiers to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
Friday, October 22nd, 2021 | carra86p | No Comments
Dr Ben Gray*
Providing equity of access for assisted dying without equity of access to palliative care is to completely undermine the goals of the End of Life Choice Act. The choice is distorted towards aid in dying and away from palliative care. In this blog I will describe the detail in the Gazette Notice documenting the funding mechanism for provision of services under the Act. I will argue that the focus in this policy on equity is misplaced and that the effect of not allowing practitioners to charge a co-payment will significantly undermine provision of aid in dying.
Monday, October 18th, 2021 | carra86p | 1 Comment
Dr Belinda Loring, Dr Ruth Cunningham, Dr Polly Atatoa Carr*
Public health activities have collectively made an incredible contribution to minimising the impact of COVID-19 in Aotearoa. But the work for public health is not over. As the situation in Auckland heralds a transition point in our approach to the pandemic, the challenge now is to be bold and clear about how we prioritise our public health resources and effort going forwards to the activities that will make the greatest impact on protecting and improving population health.
Monday, October 11th, 2021 | carra86p | 2 Comments
Dr Rachel Webb, Dr Jin Russell, Dr Pip Anderson, Dr Emma Best, Dr Alison Leversha and Dr Subha Rajanaidu*
In this blog we describe the range of urgent measures that are needed to facilitate a safe return to schools in Auckland and other regions of the country where there is ongoing community transmission of COVID-19. These include very high vaccination coverage of staff and eligible students, improved ventilation in schools, mask guidance and physical distancing. A premature return to on-site learning in schools, particularly in areas of Auckland with low vaccination uptake, and current community cases, may contribute to further transmission of COVID-19, with devastating health and wellbeing outcomes for children, young people and their families.