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Amanda Kvalsvig Profile picture
@AmandaKvalsvig
Dec 13 • 4 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
Aotearoa New Zealand's Covid Inquiry has produced a high-quality, insightful report with a huge scope and range.

See the linked article for a summary of key findings (and some gaps).

1/4

via @ConversationEDUtheconversation.com/the-covid-inqu…
NZ's capacity to implement the findings from its own Inquiry is threatened by massive cuts to public health, in stark contrast with Aus, where the release of their report coincided with an announcement of a A$251 million investment in a national centre for disease control.

2/4
The NZ Govt appears to be hoping that the Inquiry report will quickly be forgotten.
But the next pandemic may well occur within this term, at which point people will remember that NZ's capacity to respond to a significant health threat was torpedoed by its own government.
3/4
It's not (yet) too late for NZ to act on the excellent roadmap provided by the Inquiry report, which was informed by 13,000 submissions, 133,000 pages of evidence, & discussions up and down the country. An exceptional standard of consultation & evaluation.
sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2024/11/28/the…

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More from @AmandaKvalsvig

Amanda Kvalsvig Profile picture
Dec 13
It will take time and resources to make every indoor space safe - so how to prioritise?

For rapid seasonal and pandemic preparedness we need to focus first on settings that enable superspreading. There's good evidence about which settings those are, and how to make them safe.
1/
Schools, for example, are v effective propagators of outbreaks:
- Large numbers of contacts
- Indoor air quality often poor
- Long duration of exposure
- Universal attendance
- Children don't live alone: they live in households with other age groups -> community spread.

2/
Similarly,
- health settings (self evidently this is where infectious people congregate in winter respiratory seasons & an emerging pandemic)
- transport (++++ contacts, extended exposure)
- hospitality (crowded, can't mask when eating)
- ..etc.

You could work down the list.

3/
Read 4 tweets
Amanda Kvalsvig Profile picture
Sep 8
Globally, economists are estimating the productivity costs of Long Covid. LC is common & affects working-age adults. Costs add up fast to large numbers (9 countries -> 0.5-2.3% of GDP).
What are the costs to New Zealand? No-one appears to be counting.
1/
 phcc.org.nz/briefing/long-…
In our Briefing out today, we review some international evidence on the economic impacts of Long Covid, consider the potential effects in the NZ context, and outline actions that the NZ Government can take to mitigate these costs.

@PaulaLorgelly

2/
Three key actions:

1. Reduce Covid-19 case numbers
- use evidenced public health measures: clean the indoor air!
- expand eligibility & coverage of Covid vaccines

...ensuring that these protections are in place for workforces & sectors at high risk of Covid-19 and Long Covid.
Read 7 tweets
Amanda Kvalsvig Profile picture
May 26
Excellent points here from @jacktame. Protecting the health of school communities has to come first.
Making attendance the #1 goal is manifestly self-defeating.
Sick kids in school -> teachers sick -> families sick -> no-one is learning.
We need an action plan for schools:
1/5
We wrote about this policy gap in 2022 and then again in 2023, calling for an Action Plan for NZ schools and describing what needed to be done. Long Covid adds urgency to the need for safe schools.

2/5
 rnz.co.nz/news/national/…
More detail in this thread 👇 about the many actions that can be taken to slow the spread of infections through schools: protecting children's health and education + teachers' occupational safety, and keeping older & younger family members safe too.

3/5
Read 5 tweets
Amanda Kvalsvig Profile picture
May 22
Here's a new Briefing about implications of our new major mask review for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Winter is on the way, respiratory infection rates are up, & there's a potential new pandemic on the horizon.

Mask work & New Zealanders are missing out.

phcc.org.nz/briefing/scien…
The NZ Government needs act on the review, upgrading its outdated mask policies so we can benefit from effective and versatile protection against seasonal, epidemic, and pandemic infections.

Next steps include:

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/cm…
1. Identifying situations and settings where mask wearing can protect population health during winter 2024 and beyond.
Healthcare settings are an absolute no-brainer here, and so is public transport.
Read 7 tweets
Amanda Kvalsvig Profile picture
Apr 16
Anyone who is thinking that if you get Long Covid the system will support you, please understand: the system will not support you.
Anyone thinking that this wouldn't happen to you: for many previously healthy people, it already has.

1/4
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of... well, that's the problem, there isn't a cure.
So @DrAnnaNZ and her colleagues need funding for the vital research they are doing.
In the meantime prevention is what we have, and there's plenty we can do.
2/4
 phcc.org.nz/briefing/long-…
You may feel self-conscious wearing a mask on the bus or asking for better air quality at work, but one day that protection may be the only thing standing between you and the loss of your health + everything you hoped to do.

3/4
Read 4 tweets
Amanda Kvalsvig Profile picture
Mar 29
It's time to shift the burden of proof.
If someone wants to claim that Covid-19 or Long Covid will be less harmful in future, they must provide evidence showing why multiple infections are better for you than one or zero.
You can't choose to have only a 3rd infection.
1/4
The cumulative infections are what matter and around the world they are ticking up.
The evidence is compelling. It shows multiple longer-term harms to individuals, sectors, & societies from this virus.
This week we called for a country-level response:

2/4phcc.org.nz/briefing/long-…
This Briefing began as an evidence review but it quickly became a call to action.
The evidence will continue to develop at pace, bringing new treatments and solutions, but what we already know is enough to get moving.
We must get case numbers down. We have the technology.
3/4
Read 4 tweets

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