Abstract
Exploring the results of the COVID-19 response in New Zealand (Aotearoa) is warranted so that insights can inform future pandemic planning. We compared the COVID-19 response in New Zealand to that for the more severe 1918–19 influenza pandemic. Both pandemics were caused by respiratory viruses, but the 1918–19 pandemic was short, intense, and yielded a higher mortality rate. The government and societal responses to COVID-19 were vastly superior; responses had a clear strategic direction and included a highly effective elimination strategy, border restrictions, minimal community spread for 20 months, successful vaccination rollout, and strong central government support. Both pandemics involved a whole-of-government response, community mobilization, and use of public health and social measures. Nevertheless, lessons from 1918–19 on the necessity of action to prevent inequities among different social groups were not fully learned, as demonstrated by the COVID-19 response and its ongoing unequal health outcomes in New Zealand.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1827-1836 |
| Journal | Emerging Infectious Diseases |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Early online date | 11 Aug 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2023 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
We thank the Centre for Advanced Study (CAS) in Oslo, Norway, for hosting Michael Baker as part of the research project “Social science meets biology: indigenous people and severe influenza outcomes” during the 2022–2023 academic year. Svenn-Erik Mamelund and Lisa Sattenspiel provided helpful comments on the manuscript. We thank the New Zealand Ministry of Health/Manatū Hauora for providing additional COVID-19 data directly for the purposes of this article.
Access to Document
- Summers_etal_EID_Improvements_and_Persisting_Challenges_VOR
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