There are 14,128 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, and five more people have died with the disease.
Northern Regional Health Coordination Centre's associate chief clinical officer Dr Anthony Jordan and vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris are giving today's update.
The deaths announced today take the number of publicly reported Covid-related deaths to 156, the Ministry of Health said in its statement, and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths to eight.
Of the five people who have died, two were from Auckland, one from Waikato, one from Canterbury, and one from the Hutt Valley. One was in their 50s, two in their 70s and two in their 80s. Two were women and three were men.
There are 943 people are in hospital today, 25 in ICU.
The ministry says there are 890 new cases in the Southern DHB area, and 18 people in hospital with the virus in the South.
There are 18 new cases at the border today
Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT)
Northland (536), Auckland (3,498), Waikato (1,333), Bay of Plenty (956), Lakes (416), Hawke’s Bay (841), MidCentral (599), Whanganui (205), Taranaki (470), Tairāwhiti (232), Wairarapa (164), Capital and Coast (906), Hutt Valley (549), Nelson Marlborough (416), Canterbury (1,937), South Canterbury (135), Southern (890), West Coast (39); Unknown (6).
Cases in hospital
Northland: 22; North Shore: 177; Middlemore: 230; Auckland: 209; Waikato: 68; Bay of Plenty: 35; Lakes: 8; Tairāwhiti: 4, Hawke’s Bay: 23; Taranaki: 6; MidCentral: 13; Hutt Valley: 18; Capital and Coast: 44; Wairarapa: 5; Whanganui: 1; Nelson Marlborough: 13; Canterbury: 47; South Canterbury: 2; Southern: 18.
Average age of current hospitalisations: 58
Active cases number drops
There was a big drop in the number of active community cases today. Yesterday, there were 199,645 cases. Overnight, that has dropped by 75,944 to 123,701.
Today's press release shows the Ministry of Health has again changed the definition of an active community case.
Yesterday, the definition was "cases identified in the past 10 days and not yet classified as recovered". Today, the active period has been reduced to seven days.
Boosters
Jordan said getting boosted reduced people's likelihood of passing Covid-19 on to others.
The current rate of boosters in Auckland was lower than what he would prefer, but he said community partners were rallying once again to get people boosted.
Vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris said booster vaccinations were an important part of most vaccine schedules.
Petousis-Harris said this also applied to some childhood immunisations.
Petousis-Harris said a booster vaccination stimulated the mature immunity our body had been working on.
Boosted immunity lasted longer and was more effective than primary immunity, she said.
It also meant people would be better protected if they had their booster if other variants hit our shores, she said.
Petousis-Harris said Omicron was different to other variants and two doses weren't as effective - but boosters changed this dramatically.
The important thing was to make sure you and your loved ones were up to date with your Covid vaccines which would not only protect you but those around you, she said.
Petousis-Harris also discussed pregnancy and vaccinations.
A mother who got vaccinated before or during breastfeeding could pass on some immunity to their babies.
Petousis-Harris said if anyone was unsure about getting vaccinated while pregnant, they should speak to their GP.
Getting vaccinated while pregnant is was "very routine" and not "something that was new".
Once most people in the world are at least partly immune to the pandemic, it would mean the impact on everyone would ease.
- ODT Online/NZ Herald
