25th Aug 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=731 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

The Daily Star The Covid19 pandemic has set back the fight against poverty in Asia and the Pacific by at least 2 years and many in the region will likely find it harder than before to escape poverty according to a report from the Asian Development Bank ADB. The regions economic growth this year is expected to reduce extreme povertydefined as living off less than 1.90 a dayto a level that would have been achieved in 2020 had the pandemic not happened according to Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2022 released today. Data simulations also show that people in the region with lower prepandemic levels of social mobilitythe ability to escape povertymay experience longerlasting setbacks. https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/pandemic-sets-back-fight-against-poverty-asia-least-2-years-3101956 25th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

New Zealand Herald A new analysis has shown how New Zealands pandemic response left it with one of the lowest rates of excess mortality in the world sparing it the thousands of extra deaths seen even in elimination countries like Taiwan and Australia. But the Otago University public health experts who crunched the data say that with the ZeroCovid era now well behind us theres much more the Government could be doing to keep Kiwis safer. It comes as the Ministry of Health announced another 17 virusrelated deaths today and 3140 new Covid19 cases. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-how-many-lives-did-nzs-pandemic-response-save/6CL6PXKC226OWDYWEZCNRGCOOU/ 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Independent China is easing its tight restrictions on visas after it largely suspended issuing them to foreign students and others more than two years ago at the start of the Covid19 pandemic. The website of the Chinese Embassy in India said the updated procedures would take effect from Wednesday without making a specific mention of vaccine requirements or proof of a negative test for the virus. China still requires those arriving from abroad be quarantined at a hotel or private home and proof of a negative test is required for entry to many public and commercial spaces. https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/india-china-visa-students-covid-restrictions-b2151481.html 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Phys.org Researchers from The University of Queensland have found the COVID19 pandemic in Australia has had a greater financial and psychological impact on women than men. A study conducted by the UQ Business School shows women have experienced more significant impacts on their overall employment hours of work domestic labor and mental health and wellbeing. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-covid-pandemic-fallout-worse-women.html 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

EURACTIV Bulgaria will start considering COVID19 as influenza and other respiratory viruses Professor Radka Argirova announced after the expert group at the Ministry of Health meeting which monitors the epidemic situation in the country. This approach to be adopted as the school year starts in September would mean that those infected with coronavirus and their contacts would not be subject to the mandatory quarantine. Spain was the first country in the EU to consider COVID19 as seasonal flu at the end of March when the mandatory quarantine for the infected was lifted. https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/bulgaria-to-treat-covid-19-as-common-flu/ 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

POLITICO Europe Domestic travel in Europe this summer is projected to fully return to 2019 levels and many countries have been easing COVID19 restrictions since spring. While this state of normality is a huge relief for many it is a cause for greater concern among the immunocompromised community. COVID19 continues to circulate with infections increasing in many European countries including Germany France Italy Greece and Austria. https://www.politico.eu/sponsored-content/leaving-no-one-behind-in-the-fight-against-covid-19/ 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Independent Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced plans to ease border controls from early September by eliminating requirements for predeparture COVID19 tests for travelers who have received at least three vaccine doses and he will also consider increasing daily entry caps as soon as next month. Japan which has imposed some of the toughest border measures for the coronavirus currently requires negative PCR test results within 72 hours of departure for all entrants a practice that has been criticized as cumbersome. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/fumio-kishida-ap-japan-covid-tokyo-b2151472.html 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Wednesday he expects a wave of COVID19 infections this autumn but ruled out further lockdowns or school closures. He made the comments after a cabinet meeting during which the government approved stricter mask rules on trains and planes from October. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-health-minister-expects-renewed-coronavirus-wave-autumn-2022-08-24/ 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Japan will waive predeparture COVID19 tests for vaccinated travellers to the country but daily caps on entrants will remain in place Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday. Japan has maintained some of the strictest pandemic border measures among major economies requiring travellers to present a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of departure. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-pm-kishida-brief-about-new-measures-handling-covid-kyodo-2022-08-24/ 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Yahoo UK & Ireland Along with new shoes pencil cases and PE kits parents across Bath and North East Somerset Swindon and Wiltshire are being advised to put the Covid19 vaccine at the top of their childrens backtoschool todo list. Schools across the region will start to return after the summer holidays next week and mums and dads are being urged to make sure their child is protected against coronavirus before heading back to class. https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/parents-urged-children-covid-jabs-033000881.html 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Once considered too lowstatus for many peddling wares on the street has made a comeback as people who lost their jobs or closed down their businesses seek new ways to make a living and work around Chinas relentless antiCOVID policies. Hospitality tourism and afterschool tutoring have been particularly hard hit. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/chinas-jobless-turn-car-boot-sales-covid-hit-economy-stalls-2022-08-24/ 24th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Global Government Forum The rollout of the COVID19 vaccine by Australias health department was partly effective but planning was slow and incomplete in the early stages delivery to priority groups was flawed and it failed to meet targets according to a review by the countrys National Audit Office. Australias prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that he would call an inquiry into the federal governments wider response to the pandemic as soon as practicable. The Australian National Audit Office ANAO review published last Wednesday found that while the Department of Health and Aged Care undertook largely appropriate administration and logistics planning that initial planning was not timely. It said that detailed planning with states and territories was not complete before the vaccine rollout commenced and that it underestimated the complexity of administering inreach services to the aged care and disability sectors. While 90 of the eligible population was vaccinated by the end of 2021 the planning and implementation of the vaccine rollout to priority groups was not as effective as for the population as a whole the report said. https://www.globalgovernmentforum.com/australias-covid-19-vaccine-rollout-flawed-audit-finds/ 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg Hong Kong health officials said tighter social distancing restrictions could be considered if rising Covid19 cases worsen the pressure on the citys health system. The city reported 7884 new Covid19 cases Wednesday the highest number since the end of March. Increased hospitalizations have put pressure on the healthcare system prompting hospitals to scale back nonemergency services and the reopening of community isolation facilities. Expanding virus curbs would be seen as a step back for Asias financial hub which has struggled to balance reopening its borders with mainland China and the rest of the world. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-24/hong-kong-could-consider-tighter-curbs-as-covid-cases-rise 25th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg The longer a virus can replicate inside a person before causing symptoms the harder it can be to stop because of the greater potential for the infected to unknowingly spread it far and wide. Among Covid19s pernicious features its incubation period is longer than many other respiratory viral infections including influenza respiratory syncytial virus and rhinovirus. The good news is the interval between exposure and the development of symptoms appears to be narrowing. Scientists from Peking University and Tsinghua University in Beijing analyzed data from more than 140 studies to estimate the incubation period of Covid caused by different strains of SARSCoV2. It fell from an average of five days with an alpha infection to 3.42 days with omicron according to a study published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-22/covid-incubation-gets-shorter-with-each-new-variant-study-shows 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal Between two million and four million Americans arent working due to the longterm effects of Covid19 according to a new Brookings Institution report released Wednesday. The inability to work translates to roughly 170 billion a year in lost wages the report estimates. It follows a January Brookings Institution report that estimated long Covid was potentially causing 15 of the countrys labor shortage. The report estimates that roughly 16 million Americans of working agebetween 18 and 65have long Covid which most groups and doctors define as wideranging symptoms that persist for months following an infection and can include shortness of breath extreme fatigue and neurocognitive issues. https://www.wsj.com/articles/over-2-million-americans-arent-working-due-to-long-covid-says-brookings-11661364528?mod=life_work_featured_strip_pos1 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg After taking a bigger hit to employment at the start of the pandemic US Black workers are now seeing aboveaverage wage gains and moving into betterpaying roles at higher rates than other groups according to new research by the White Houses Council of Economic Advisers. Many Black Americans benefited as the US labor market bounced back from the worst of the Covid19 crisis in early 2020 when millions of people lost their jobs in a matter of weeks. During the recovery some workers gained the leverage needed to switch jobs and ask for better wages the researchers found. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-24/us-black-workers-are-seeing-above-average-wage-gains-cea-finds 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg The world is largely moving on from Covid with Singapore scrapping indoor mask rules Japan welcoming more visitors and employees returning to offices from Madrid to New York. But in China where strict antipandemic policies remain in place the health emergency just helped produce the countrys latest billionaire. Shares of Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co. a maker of medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment have surged 60 since their Aug. 22 debut even with Wednesdays slight decline propelling the net worth of controlling shareholder Xue Min to 5.1 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The listing which raised 1.6 billion was the nations thirdbiggest offering of 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-24/new-covid-billionaire-emerges-even-as-world-moves-on-from-virus 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg The UK National Health Service said it will pause Covid19 testing of staff without any outward symptoms as new infections decline and the country seeks to live with the virus. Asymptomatic staff testing once considered a core component of the NHSs pandemic infection prevention and control guidance will be paused in most healthcare settings the UK Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement Wednesday. Routine asymptomatic testing will also be suspended in parts of the prison estate some places of detention and certain domestic abuse and homelessness settings it said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-24/uk-scraps-covid-tests-for-asymptomatic-as-cases-continue-to-fall 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Yahoo News Australia on MSN.com The Ministry of Health MOH added in a media release on Wednesday 24 August that the Health Sciences Authority HSA has also extended its authorisation of Modernas Spikevax vaccine to very young children aged between six months and five years old. A decision on the recommendation for vaccination of this age group is expected soon. If approved we will time it together with the booster exercise for children aged 5 to 11 and administer them at the same centres for the convenience of parents the ministry said in the media release. MOH will be setting up five dedicated vaccination centres across the island to administer booster doses for these children. Details will be announced at a later date. https://www.msn.com/en-sg/travel/news/covid-19-booster-vaccine-shots-for-kids-aged-5-to-11-in-fourth-quarter-of-the-year/ar-AA111Zf0 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Business Standard Singapore on Wednesday relaxed its socialmixing restrictions on COVID19 and said that wearing masks wont be mandatory from August 29 except on public transport and hospitals as the daily hospital cases have halved in the country. Speaking at a press conference to announce the relaxation of the masks mandate Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that masks will only be mandatory in two settings the first being healthcare facilities residential care homes and ambulances as well as indoor premises within hospitals and polyclinics. And the second being public transport the Channel News Asia quoted him as saying. https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/singapore-eases-covid-19-restrictions-masks-only-on-public-transport-122082400535_1.html 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

PMLiVE A total of 100000 doses of Janssens COVID19 vaccine Ad26.COV2S have been delivered to Ukraine this month under the COVAX initiative and distributed to 22 regions in the country by the Ministry of Health the World Health Organization WHO announced. Additionally more than 100 medical workers and trainers across Ukraine have been taught by WHO to conduct further training on the use of Ad26.COV2S and Ukrainian healthcare workers have received over 23000 copies of guidance materials on the use of the vaccine. Ad26.COV2S also known as JNJ78436735 or Jcovden was approved for emergency use by WHO and registered in Ukraine in July 2021 for the vaccination of adults aged 18yearsold and over. https://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/100,000_doses_of_janssens_covid-19_delivered_to_ukraine_under_covax_initiative_1453913 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters The United Nationsbacked COVAX vaccine program has offered Mexico 10 million doses of PfizerBioNTech COVID19 shots for children after the countrys president vowed to complain to the U.N. over delays a senior Mexican official said on Tuesday. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador this week said Mexico was owed 75 million after it received less than half the 52 million vaccine doses it was allocated under the COVAX program which aims to distribute shots equitably worldwide https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-says-covax-has-offered-vaccines-kids-after-protesting-delays-2022-08-23/ 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Singapore will do away with requirements to wear masks indoors starting Aug. 29 as the country sees its COVID19 situation stabilise further the health minister said on Wednesday. For the first time in more than two years people in the Southeast Asian citystate will no longer be required to wear masks indoors except on public transport and in highrisk settings like healthcare facilities. The health ministry also updated rules for nonvaccinated travellers dropping a 7day quarantine requirement starting next week. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapore-drop-most-indoor-mask-requirements-next-week-2022-08-24/ 24th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal The Biden administration has completed plans for a fall Covid19 booster campaign that would launch in September with 175 million updated vaccine doses provided to states pharmacies and other vaccination sites. The administration is procuring the doses which drugmakers are updating to target the newest versions of the virus. The administration has also informed states pharmacies and other entities they can begin preordering now through the end of August according to the administrations fall vaccination planning guide. Vaccines would be shipped immediately following an expected authorization by federal drug regulators who still must review and sign off on the shots and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which still must review the data and sign off on administering the shots. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-booster-campaign-expected-to-launch-next-month-11661263088 24th Aug 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters U.S. first lady Jill Biden has tested positive in a rebound case of COVID19 but is not experiencing any symptoms while President Joe Biden continues to test negative for the virus officials said on Wednesday. Jill Biden tested positive on Wednesday by antigen testing following a negative test the previous day and the White Houses medical unit has notified close contacts her deputy communications director said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-first-lady-jill-biden-tests-positive-rebound-case-covid-19-2022-08-24/ 24th Aug 2022

Partisan Exits

The Conversation Indonesia Since health officials confirmed the first COVID19 cases misinformation has spread just as quickly as the virus. Social media may have made the amount variety and speed of misinformation seem unprecedented but COVID19 isnt the first pandemic where false and harmful information has set back public health. Misinformation altered how people trusted their governments and doctors during the 1918 influenza pandemic. It fueled the 19th century smallpox antivaccine movements through some of the same arguments as those currently used against the COVID19 vaccine. What sets the COVID19 pandemic apart however is the sheer magnitude of damaging disinformation put in circulation around the world. Data shows that regions and countries where disinformation thrived experienced more lethal pandemic waves despite vaccine availability. https://theconversation.com/misinformation-is-a-common-thread-between-the-covid-19-and-hiv-aids-pandemics-with-deadly-consequences-187968 24th Aug 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters Fourtimes U.S. Open winner John McEnroe said it would be a joke if Novak Djokovic is unable to compete at the U.S. tournament starting later this month due to his COVID19 vaccination status. Djokovic has refused to take the vaccine and appears set to miss out on the years last Grand Slam due to current U.S. rules that require travellers to show proof of full vaccination to board flights to and enter the United States. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/djokovic-missing-us-open-over-covid-vaccine-status-would-be-a-joke-mcenroe-2022-08-24/ 24th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

BioSpectrum Asia The Health Sciences Authority HSA in Singapore has extended the authorisation of Modernas Spikevax COVID19 vaccine via the Pandemic Special Access Route PSAR for the prevention of COVID19in individuals 6 months to 5 years administered as a course of two 25 microgram doses 6 to 11 years administered as a course of two 50 microgram doses and 12 to 17 years administered as a course of two 100 microgram doses. HSA has carefully considered the data from two clinical studies in children and adolescents and assessed that the benefits outweighed the risks for use of Spikevax in individuals aged 6 months and above. In making this regulatory decision HSA also consulted expert advice from the Medicines Advisory Committee and Panel of Infectious Diseases Experts. Safety data from the clinical studies also showed that adverse events in adolescents and children were similar to those reported in adults. https://www.biospectrumasia.com/news/91/20922/singapore-extends-use-of-modernas-covid-19-vaccine-for-kids.html 25th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal Between two million and four million Americans arent working due to the longterm effects of Covid19 according to a new Brookings Institution report released Wednesday. The inability to work translates to roughly 170 billion a year in lost wages the report estimates. It follows a January Brookings Institution report that estimated long Covid was potentially causing 15 of the countrys labor shortage. The report estimates that roughly 16 million Americans of working agebetween 18 and 65have long Covid which most groups and doctors define as wideranging symptoms that persist for months following an infection and can include shortness of breath extreme fatigue and neurocognitive issues. https://www.wsj.com/articles/over-2-million-americans-arent-working-due-to-long-covid-says-brookings-11661364528?mod=life_work_featured_strip_pos1 24th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Pharmaceutical Technology Moderna has submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration FDA to obtain emergency use authorization EUA for mRNA1273.222 its BA.4BA.5 Omicrontargeting bivalent booster vaccine for Covid19. The submission is made for a 50g booster dose of the vaccine for usage in adults aged 18 years and above. mRNA1273.222 acts on the SARSCoV2 virus initial strain and the Omicrons subvariants BA.4BA.5. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/moderna-fda-eua-covid-19-booster-vaccine/ 24th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

ABC News Professor Jason Kovacic says its likely the chances of developing long COVID19 increase the more times you contract the virus. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-24/five-per-cent-of-covid-19-patients-likely-to-develop-long-covid/14031438 24th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

News-Medical.Net In the current work the researchers sought to determine the threedose and fourdose SARSCoV2 vaccine series aVE at the same point after vaccination. They calculated the aVE for the third and fourth doses of COVID19 mRNA vaccine compared to receiving no vaccination towards Omicron considering clinical outcome utilizing a set of logistic regression equations and VE estimations for a fourth dosage compared to a third dose described in an Israeli investigation. Based on information from the United Kingdom Health Security Agency UKHSA the authors previously released a logistic regression equation that forecasts aVE including waning with time for the third COVID19 mRNA vaccine dose irrespective of the initial course against symptomatic infection and hospitalization associated with Omicron. Further they used a study that reported VE per age against the SARSCoV2 Delta variant to expand this equation to account for age variability in VE. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220824/Absolute-vaccine-effectiveness-for-third-and-fourth-doses-of-mRNA-COVID-19-vaccine-against-Omicron.aspx 24th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

BioPharma-Reporter.com A new generation of coronavirus vaccine is being developed by Swedish researchers from the Karolinska Institutet. The vaccine is being specifically designed to be less sensitive to mutations and better equipped for any future strains. The vaccine showed promising results in mice in a newly published study in EMBO Molecular Medicine and the researchers now hope to be able to take it to safety studies on humans. Matti Sllberg professor at the department of laboratory medicine Karolinska Institutet saidThis is a new generation of corona vaccine. The idea is that it will give broader protection that more resembles that gained after an actual infection and will be a bit more futureproof than the vaccines currently in use. https://www.biopharma-reporter.com/Article/2022/08/23/WHO-advice-on-second-booster-doses-for-COVID-19 24th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Labiotech.eu A new generation of coronavirus vaccine is being developed by Swedish researchers from the Karolinska Institutet. The vaccine is being specifically designed to be less sensitive to mutations and better equipped for any future strains. The vaccine showed promising results in mice in a newly published study in EMBO Molecular Medicine and the researchers now hope to be able to take it to safety studies on humans. Matti Sllberg professor at the department of laboratory medicine Karolinska Institutet saidThis is a new generation of corona vaccine. https://www.labiotech.eu/more-news/new-generation-coronavirus-vaccine-being-developed-by-swedish-researchers-from-karolinska-institutet/ 24th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Yahoo News UK Pfizer Inc and BioNTechs vaccine was 73.2 effective in preventing COVID19 among children aged 6 months through 4 years new data from the companies showed on Tuesday two months after the U.S. rollout of the shots began for that age group. The PfizerBioNTech vaccine was authorized for children under 5 years of age in June based on data that showed the vaccine generated a similar immune response as in older age groups. An early analysis based on 10 symptomatic COVID19 cases in the study had suggested a vaccine efficacy of 80.3. But experts had warned that the data was preliminary due to a low number of symptomatic cases. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/pfizer-biontech-covid-shot-73-110922184.html 24th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters AstraZeneca may not stay in the vaccine business in the long run its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday showing how quickly fortunes have changed for the drugmaker that produced one of the first COVID19 shots but has since lost out to rivals. Production delays probes by regulators following rare cases of severe side effects and concerns about its relatively short shelf life compared with other shots have stymied adoption of the companys COVID19 vaccine. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/astrazeneca-hunt-oncology-cardiovascular-acquisitions-2022-08-23/ 24th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Moderna Inc sought U.S. authorization for its COVID19 booster shot tailored against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron and said if cleared it would be ready to deliver the doses in September. Its application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA is based on preclinical data for the socalled bivalent dose that contains the dominant BA.4BA.5 variants along with the original coronavirus strain. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-completes-fda-submission-booster-dose-targeting-omicron-ba4-ba5-2022-08-23/ 24th Aug 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Xinhua The Chinese mainland on Tuesday reported 380 locallytransmitted confirmed COVID19 cases of which 264 were in Hainan Province the National Health Commission said Wednesday. Altogether 1261 local asymptomatic carriers were newly identified on Tuesday including 543 in Tibet and 336 in Hainan said the commission in its report. A total of 718 COVID19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland on Tuesday. https://english.news.cn/20220824/621bddd242314ed9adedc97982577115/c.html 24th Aug 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Mint India has recorded 10649 new Covid19 cases in the past 24 hours taking the countrys cumulative caseload to 44368195 according to Union Health Ministry data on Wednesday. Currently the countrys active caseload stands below onelakh mark that is 96442 infections. The active cases comprises 0.22 per cent of the total infections while the national COVID19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.59 the health ministry said. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.62 and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 3.32. A total of 43744301 have been recovered from the coronavirus infection in the country since the onset of pandemic including 10677 recoveries recorded in the span of 24 hours. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/covid19-india-logs-10-649-new-infections-active-cases-reduce-to-96442-11661310870382.html 24th Aug 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

New Zealand Herald A new analysis has shown how New Zealands pandemic response left it with one of the lowest rates of excess mortality in the world sparing it the thousands of extra deaths seen even in elimination countries like Taiwan and Australia. But the Otago University public health experts who crunched the data say that with the ZeroCovid era now well behind us theres much more the Government could be doing to keep Kiwis safer. It comes as the Ministry of Health announced another 17 virusrelated deaths today and 3140 new Covid19 cases. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-how-many-lives-did-nzs-pandemic-response-save/6CL6PXKC226OWDYWEZCNRGCOOU/ 24th Aug 2022