On 3 Aug 2023 08:22:16 GMT, Gordon <
Gordon@leaf.net.nz> wrote:
For those still interested.
https://www.who.int/data/stories/global-excess-deaths-associated-with-covid-19-january-2020-december-2021
14.96 excess deaths and 5.41 deaths from Covid. About 3 times to end of
2021.
Not a particularly easy site - but through it I found:
https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/undoctored/cumulative-pandemic-deaths-graph-more-effective-1000-words
From that site:
Australia achieved the fourth lowest excess mortality rate. And then
there are the top three of the 23 countries. Third is Japan (nearly
500) while second is Denmark (around 250). Who is first? New Zealand!
But what is more remarkable than this outstanding result is that of
the 23 countries, New Zealand is the only one not to have an excess of
death rate at all (under 0 to be precise).
How come?
How did this happen? Overwhelmingly it is due to the success of
Aotearoa’s public health measures which were based on an elimination,
rather than mitigation, of community transmission strategy. This
included the lockdowns and strong border restrictions.
What distinguished us from most of the rest of the world was not just
the elimination choice. It was the speed in which the Labour-led
government implemented it. New Zealand was also advantaged from its
distance from the early coronavirus spread from China to Europe.
Geographic location gave us an advantage but that was not enough on
its own. Good decision-making and implementation were the most
decisive factors
The outcome was New Zealand being a world leader in the Covid-19
response for 2020 and much of 2021. This included economic performance
because our lockdowns were so effective we had less of them than
almost all other countries.
A not always understood consequence of this transmission elimination
strategy was that it also impacted on influenza mortality. During this
period flu mortality rates plummeted. Movement (and proximity) among
New Zealanders and tourism are big flu drivers. Halting tourism and
reducing proximity of people means reducing flu.
Much of New Zealand’s success was pre-vaccine. Contrary to a prevalent
but inaccurate narrative promoted by some, New Zealand’s vaccine
rollout was also world leading.
Full vaccination coverage was higher than most developed economies,
including the European Union (which negotiated as a bloc), United
Kingdom and United States. This was despite being a smaller economy
and a long way away from vaccine manufacturing countries.
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