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Covid-19 Hospitalisations Now Peaking in Aotearoa NZ – But Key Covid-19 Control Measures Still Need to be Maintained

Monday, March 21st, 2022 | carra86p | 4 Comments

Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker*

In this blog we present hospitalisation data for Covid-19 suggesting that the numbers are now peaking across the country. To date, the peak burden of hospitalisations and ICU admissions in NZ has been lower than the peaks in Australia. Although various Covid-19 control measures are being de-escalated, we detail reasons why some controls need to be retained and even strengthened, and which we consider are most important to minimise harm to health and avoid burdening the health system.

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Establishing Long COVID services in Aotearoa NZ – what can we learn from overseas?

Monday, March 21st, 2022 | carra86p | No Comments

Robyn Whittaker, Rosie Dobson, Felicity Oh, Sharon Russell, Karen Carter, Penny Andrew*

Long COVID (LC) is becoming a substantial issue internationally and many countries are establishing dedicated health services to support people with the condition. In this blog, we discuss what LC services look like overseas and identify key components and considerations for the development of high quality and culturally appropriate LC services in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).

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Putin and the Bomb: Why New Zealand national risk assessments should include planning for the potential impacts of nuclear winter

Monday, March 14th, 2022 | carra86p | 1 Comment

Dr Matt Boyd & Prof Nick Wilson* (Syndicated from the Adapt Research Blog)

In this blog we briefly review the literature on the probability of nuclear war and what various models estimate to be the potential global climate impacts (eg, of nuclear winter). Although New Zealand is relatively well placed as a major food producer – a range of mitigation strategies could increase the probability of sustaining food security during a recovery period. To get the ball rolling the Government needs to perform a national risk assessment on this topic and commission work on identifying the most cost-effective preparations.

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Longer-term harm from Covid-19 in children: The evidence suggests greater efforts are needed to protect children in Aotearoa NZ from infection

Wednesday, March 9th, 2022 | carra86p | 1 Comment

Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Dr Anna Brooks, Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Julie Bennett, Dr Jennifer Summers, Carmen Timu-Parata, Dr Cervantée Wild, Belinda Tuari-Toma, Constanza Jackson, Prof Michael Baker*

Longer-term (or ‘post-acute effects’) of Covid-19 in children (including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children [MIS-C] and long Covid) are well-described. But there is a lack of robust evidence about the prevalence of these conditions. In this blog we summarise findings from a rapid review of the evidence. These findings indicate to us the need for a precautionary approach in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) with greater efforts to prevent children from being infected during the current Omicron outbreak. Protections for children could include improvements to ventilation, mask use, and vaccine equity, and a lower threshold for closing schools and early childhood facilities with greater support for temporary home learning when community transmission is high.

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Daily nicotine use increases among youth in Aotearoa NZ: The 2021 Snapshot Y10 Survey

Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 | carra86p | No Comments

Janet Hoek, Jude Ball, Lindsay Robertson, Philip Gendall, Nick Wilson, Richard Edwards, Andrew Waa*

Recently, ASH New Zealand released findings from the 2021 Snapshot Year 10 survey, a large cross-sectional survey of young people aged 14-15. The survey provides important information on vaping and smoking among an age group where dependence on nicotine may develop, and the findings enable researchers and policy makers to assess the impact of different policies.  While the survey report reveals declining daily smoking, it also shows increasing vaping, particularly among Māori. We explain why rising vaping prevalence should be of concern and may warrant additional regulatory measures.

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