WHO COVID vaccine composition TAG requesting data for next update due May 2026:
“Key antisera & antigens of interest for the May 2026 decision-making include antisera to: JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, NB.1.8.1, XFG, BA.3.2 and potentially emerging variants.”
www.who.int/news/item/30...
Climate change poses risk to health & health infrastructure.
Increases risk mosquito-borne diseases reach our shores, including dengue & malaria. For NZers, warmer climate could mean not only more mosquito bites but also a higher chance exotic pathogens arrive and successfully establish here.
Researchers at @mit.edu & Broad Institute used mRNA to temporarily program cells in the liver to improve T-cell function in mice.
“If we can restore something essential like the immune system, hopefully we can help people stay free of disease for a longer span of their life,” says Feng Zhang.
#BA32 NZ Genomic analysis BA.3.2 is disproportionately detected in children compared to other circulating lineages
In the current reporting window, BA.3.2 accounts for 51.5% (35/68 genomes) of cases under 20 compared to 13.2% (30/227 genomes) in older cases
Eurosurveillance: Clinical and economic benefits of seasonal COVID-19 vaccination in Germany: results from the ROUTINE-COV19 Study, 9/2022 to 3/2024
Andrea Schmetz et al @eurosurveillance.org
Substantial clinical and economic benefit with COVID vaccination in Germany
bit.ly/3QPIO3a
More than 400,000 New Zealanders have experienced Long Covid and nearly half are still symptomatic.
Long Covid is a stark reminder of the pandemic’s persistence with real and ongoing health, social, and economic impacts.
So where is the government response?
www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/lon...
Variant trackers have noticed an interesting pattern with the BA.3.2 "Cicada" family where the highest proportion of sequences reported have been in children and seems to hold true for all countries reporting age with their COVID sequences. 4/
New York Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai scientists find lung cells send ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in tiny vesicles to other cells, making them vulnerable to COVID-19 and revealing a new infection route.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I agree that it's not possible to distinguish whether BA.3.2 is more virulent in children, infects more children, or (more likely) some combination of the two.
"Policymakers and the public are reluctant to even speak of Covid in the present tense, but the evidence shows it is still a major infectious disease in Aotearoa New Zealand, with wide-ranging negative impacts".
#longcovid
www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-...
Almost 200,000 New Zealanders now living with long Covid - where is the government plan?
A high prevalence of #longCovid is perhaps the starkest reminder that the pandemic is far from over.
@amandakvalsvig.bsky.social
www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-...
Graph of receptor binding curves showing an ancestral and recent H5N1. The ancestral virus does not bind NeuGc receptor well, whereas the recent virus birds NeuGc and NeuAc containing receptors equally.
Really excited to be able to share our latest preprint, describing how during its evolution in cattle, H5N1 has got better at using a type of alternative receptor that's abundant in cows, but not found in humans and birds.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
For anyone wanting a deep-dive into the regulation of indoor air quality in Australia, the recent NSW Parliament enquiry into Clean Indoor Air offers a treasure-trove of great information about the present sorry situation and possible ways forward. My commentary: petervogel.legal/rubyprincess...
you gotta get your doctor to write you a note, unfortunately
i managed to get another booster this time. but i did get long covid after getting denied a booster a few years ago. whatever they saved on the extra shot they lost a thousand times over in a reduction in lifetime tax paid by me
As people are again hitting the confusion generated by the IMAC rewording, I want to re-up something Living Safely with Covid posted a couple of weeks back- Pharmac is the authority, they won't (shouldn't) be changing without consultation, so watch for consultation
This was what we managed to avoid in AoNZ.
As an intensive care specialist, I will forever be grateful that the COVID response was driven by expertise and values.
A central role of government has always been responding to society level threats, delivered by ideas of fairness and collective good.
If you can’t afford FLUAD the standard Influvac vaccine is a perfectly good vaccine and funded for some.
Cost approx. $45
Fluad info: www.fluvaccine.co.nz/fluad-full
IMAC info: immune.org.nz/vaccine/infl...
2/2
Screenshot from website. Green background with text saying Fluad Inactivated Influenza Vaccine (surface antigen), adjuvanted 50 yrs + For patients 50 years and over. For people aged 50 years old and over, influenza immunisation is very important, as the risks associated with the illness increase as you age.
Flu vaccine update:
FLUAD adjuvanted influenza vaccine (unfunded) is now available in Ao NZ to anyone aged 50+ years.
The MF59 adjuvant boosts immune response in older people and can lead to more durable immunity.
1/2
Spoke to the local pharmacist last week.
He confirmed that although the IMAC recommendations have changed to annual boosters Pharmac is still funding 6-monthly Covid boosters.
Hopefully by now you’ve found a pharmacist to give your the LP.8.1 vaccine!
Spoke to the local pharmacist last week.
He confirmed that although the IMAC recommendations have changed to annual boosters Pharmac is still funding 6-monthly Covid boosters.
Hopefully by now you’ve found a pharmacist to give your the LP.8.1 vaccine!
It was a public health failure to not address (and in some cases perpetuate) the early misinformation and disinformation that the immune system is a muscle that needs frequent exposure to infections. It’s deeply embedded into people’s thinking. It’s going to be challenging to shift perceptions.
Get told that all the time, but people still won’t wear masks. The most they will do is skip some large events when they hear there is a Covid wave. Usually they only skip events with strangers, because as you know friends and family can’t possibly infect you. Gah!
MasqFit, developed by @edderic.bsky.social, is now available in the iOS App Store
“MasqFit recommends masks that are most likely to fit your face, based on real fit data and mask performance.”
apps.apple.com/nz/app/masqf...
“Most people think of the flu vaccine as preventing a week of unpleasant symptoms, but the evidence now shows it also significantly reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.” #kikorangi
www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/inf...
Wearing masks, opening windows, receiving vaccinations, participating in testing, staying home when sick, running HEPA filters, practicing good hygiene...
We are capable of taking so many actions to reduce viral infections!
I don't understand the "well, what can you do?" attitude. LOTS, just try.
The shingles vaccine should be free for everyone born before the chickenpox vaccine was funded in New Zealand.
Ditto. Plus HPV and Shingles.
My new research is out
"Overview and Pathophysiology of Long Covid"
I provide an updated overview of key concepts, terminology and epidemiology of LC. I also offer an analysis of key mechanisms of pathology and multi-organ involvement in #LongCovid
www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/6/...
You can sign up for notifications of consultations and decisions on the Pharmac website 👇
govt.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...
You can check past decisions and current consultations here: www.pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-res...
That’s problematic. The recommendations don’t change access but they are confusing.
Pharmac is usually good about replying to queries if you email them
You can also sign up for notification of consultations. Am guessing if IMAC advice has changed there could be future access changes.