August 28, 2023
Benefit extended from Covid elimnination strategy
A study of mortality data by the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand shows the end of New Zealand’s Covid elimination strategy at the end of 2021 did not lead to a rebound in deaths from other causes.
The study, published this week in the prestigious international medical journal The Lancet, said in 2020 the elimination strategy not only successfully eradicated Covid-19, but also resulted in an 11 percent reduction in all-cause mortality over a 30-week period.
That contrasted markedly with most other countries in which all-cause mortality increased due to the pandemic.
Study co-author Thomas Hills says the patterns of mortality observed in the study are informative in terms of guiding public health measures for future pandemics.