It’s time to ‘de-prioritize’ Covid-19 for most people, shift focus to those at risk, epidemiologists say

by Robin Martin RNZMore

It’s time to ‘de-prioritize’ the response to Covid 19, which will now be no worse than the flu for a large portion of the population, epidemiologists say.

Professor Peter McIntyre from the University of Otago said the focus should be on double-boosting high-risk people, rather than worrying about controlling infection through increased mask-wearing or better ventilation.

That group included the elderly and Māori and Pacifica over the age of 60.

Covid-19 numbers have increased in recent weeks, prompting some epidemiologists to talk about a fourth wave of the disease, calling on governments to improve ventilation in classrooms and order masking on public transport. I got

Monday’s case figures released by the Ministry of Health showed that by 2029, the average number of cases in the week had increased by 300 from the previous week.

Hospital admissions also increased by 144, with 363 patients hospitalized with Covid-19. Also, Covid-19 deaths were his 21, up from his eight the previous week.

McIntyre, who is also a medical adviser to the Immunization Advisory Center, said instead of looking at the total numbers, we need to identify groups that weren’t double-boosted or didn’t get access to antivirals.

“What we’re really concerned about right now is that we’re talking about people over the age of 70 or 75, either because they have a serious underlying medical condition or because they’re very old.

Maori and Pacifica over the age of 60 also belonged to that group, he said.

“For everyone else, it’s probably no more serious problem than the flu.”

McIntyre is also the Director of Women’s and Children’s Health at the University of Otago.

He said the combination of the historic number of Covid-19 infections and the country’s high vaccination coverage means New Zealand has a very good level of immunity.

“To be honest, I’m a little annoyed… by the fact that all these messages to avoid infection keep popping up.

“I don’t mean to take it lightly … For those who still think it matters, I believe the game has moved. We should turn our attention elsewhere.”

At this point in the pandemic, most of the rules have ended, but those who test positive will still be required to self-isolate for seven days and, depending on the situation, be required to wear masks in hospitals.The Cabinet announced on April 11. Today, we have decided to keep these rules in place for at least the next two months.

Michael Plank, a Covid-19 modeler professor at the University of Canterbury, said there has been a significant increase in hospitalizations, but is New Zealand experiencing a new wave of infections or just a bump? It is too early to judge

“I think this is probably the result of an increase in cases in people over the age of 60, who are mainly contributing to the number of hospitals.”

Plank said the focus should have been on boosting the at-risk group twice as much, but overall the story was an improved one.

“Certainly, the direction of travel is moving in a positive direction towards mitigating the risks seen from Covid-19, and Covid will not go away in the long term.

“So we will see a move towards treatment alongside all the other public health issues we have to deal with.”

He said we should focus on hospitalization and mortality rates, not weekly infections.

They showed that Covid-19 could be responsible for about 1000 deaths per year compared to 500 due to influenza.

Despite this risk, less than 50% of people over the age of 50 used a second booster jab.

It weighed heavily on the mind of Ngaire Harris, Director of Clinical Governance at Te Whānau o Waipareira in West Auckland.

“Covid is about hard-to-reach hearts and minds.

“So we have hard-to-reach places geographically, pockets of whanau like vulnerable people who don’t have cars and can’t access data.”

Harris was concerned about how low prevalence of boosters and vaccines was among Maori.

Epidemiologist Michael Baker told RNZ yesterday that the fourth wave of the virus was not as violent as the previous waves, but that the number of daily self-reported cases, as seen in the RNZ’s ongoing Covid database, has increased. It is clear that it is increasing gradually, he said. -19 information.

Last week, the Cabinet decided to keep some remaining Covid-19 restrictions in place for at least the next two months.

Most pandemic rules have been lifted, but those who test positive will still be required to self-isolate for seven days and, in some circumstances, wear masks in hospitals.