Information on the latest science and technical advice on COVID-19.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health has seen high interest in all aspects of the virus from not only the scientific and health community but the general public as well.
On this page:
Variants Updates
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can undergo genetic mutations that occur naturally over time or from other pressures. These are known as variants. These updates provide information on variants of the virus that are of interest or concern.
27 September 2022
- 27 September 2022 – Variants update (Word, 569 KB)
- 27 September 2022 – Variants update (PDF, 868 KB)
19 August 2022
28 July 2022
7 July 2022
Long COVID Evidence Updates
The Science and Technical Advisory and Chief Allied Health Professions Office produce a long COVID evidence brief which informs our ongoing work in the COVID-19 response, and is updated over time.
- Long COVID Evidence Brief 11 August 2022 (PDF, 927 KB)
- Long COVID Evidence Brief 11 August 2022 (Word, 794 KB)
COVID-19 Science Updates
30 March 2022: Request for advice about vaccination in children (5–11)
- STA RfA 30 March: Request for advice about vaccination in children (5–11) (PDF, 1.5 MB)
- STA RfA 30 March: Request for advice about vaccination in children (5–11) (Word, 492 KB)
This request for advice (RfA) was developed to support the discussions and formulation of advice for providing access to the COVID-19 vaccines for this age group within Aotearoa New Zealand. These discussions were primarily held by the COVID-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group (CV TAG), who subsequently formulated the advice on vaccination. The RfA has been developed by Ministry of Health expert advisors, in conjunction with expert peer-review obtained through the CV TAG review process.
13 September 2021: Vaccination in pregnancy not associated with miscarriage
- CSU 13 Sept 2021: Vaccination in pregnancy is not associated with miscarriage (PDF, 254 KB)
- CSU 13 Sept 2021: Vaccination in pregnancy is not associated with miscarriage (Word, 79 KB)
Two studies show that the rate of miscarriage is similar for vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant people, and that there is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage during pregnancy
9 July 2021: COVID-19 Pharmaceutical treatments
We present a brief summary of the most notable therapeutics for treating cases of COVID-19 trialled to date. These are categorised by “likely to be beneficial”, “showing promise”, and “unsupported by current evidence”. We also compare and discuss key points of differences between two meta-analyses of available trial data regarding the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 that arrived at conflicting conclusions.’
14 May 2021: Shifting thinking on aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2
The WHO and, more recently, CDC have updated their statements to more clearly accept the role airborne transmission is likely to have in the spread of COVID-19. While the Ministry of Health has long been factoring this likely mode of transmission into its planning and mitigation strategies, this has been based on caution rather than certainty. While certainty still remains somewhat elusive, recent expert summaries (noted within) and the acceptance from peak bodies further strengthens our basis for the continual revision of our mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of airborne transmission.