Tag: COVID-19

Counting the true toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand

Michael Plank

How many people died because of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand? It sounds like a simple question, but the answer depends on more than just counting reported COVID-19 deaths.

In our recent study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, we looked at a key statistic called excess mortality – the number of deaths above what we would have expected if there hadn’t been a pandemic. Excess mortality helps us to measure the overall impact of the pandemic, not just from COVID-19 itself but also from things like delayed medical care or the side effects of lockdowns.

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What the current economic recession means for long-term health outcomes

Kristina Thompson

We are in the midst of a global recession as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and attendant lockdown measures. Both the pandemic and the lockdown have each, on their own, worsened health outcomes. This fact has been relatively well covered by the media. What is missing from this discussion is that the resulting recession, forecast to be the largest in generations, will itself, in all likelihood, worsen health outcomes among the broader population.

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Herd immunity and the coronavirus

Stephen Leeder

The first preliminary (Phase 1) trial in humans of a coronavirus vaccine in the US is a good moment for reflection on the immunology of this illness.

We need to be cautious. It is not the virus that leads to interstitial lung disease and death. It is our immunological response, the “cytokine storm”, that causes severe illness.

This is comparable to the devastation of the respiratory syncytial virus, persistently responsible for bronchiolitis in the very young, killing tens of thousands worldwide each year.

If the vaccine is both effective and safe, enough people will be immune, and transmission from them to the rest of us will be much diminished. Indeed, if enough people are immune — generally about 60% (“herd immunity”) — either through exposure or vaccination, transmission ceases.

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IEA Statement on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

The Council of the International Epidemiological Association, its affiliate bodies and members have viewed with concern the rapidly evolving situation with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Since the onset of the outbreak in December 2019, this disease has affected 162 countries and territories (as of 17/03/2020) with over 184,000 people affected and 7,000 deaths. With countries at various response stages of anticipation, early detection, containment, and mitigation, we commend the efforts of the WHO, various national governments, non-governmental organizations, health workers and advocates in addressing this health crisis.

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