Podcasts about des gorman

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 37, our guest is Emeritus Professor of Health at Auckland University Medical School, Des Gorman. An Otahuhu schoolboy who applied to enrol at Auckland Medical School, because his friend was applying, turned that accidental decision into one of the most distinguished medical careers in New Zealand. That medical career nearly went off the rails when his disillusionment resulted in a change of career and a change of life, leading to seven years in the Australian navy. He credits those years in the military with the development of leadership and people skills, valuable capabilities that many in the medical sector don’t develop, and that he says added greatly to his career when he later returned to medicine. Ultimately Professor Des Gorman became the Head of the Auckland University Medical School and he was enlisted to multiple government appointments where he has been an instrumental member of the various teams working to improve our health system, including ten years as the Executive Chair of the Health Workforce Review and 6 years as a Director of ACC. But it is his desire to challenge the things that don’t make sense that is a feature of his medical research into brain injuries and which overlaps into his critique of the health service that New Zealanders rely on. He came to greater prominence as one of the few outspoken commentators concerned about the manner in which we were managing the Covid 19 pandemic. During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast Professor Gorman speaks to Bruce Cotterill at length about our Covid response, the cruel constraints on our way of life and how they could have, and should have been avoided. And he discusses the current state of the health system, the issues around Maori health, and his view on Robert F Kennedy’s appointment as Health Secretary in the USA. And what would Professor Des Gorman do if he was Prime Minister for a day? His answer will make you wish he was appointed for a full term.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A programme aimed at getting more under-served groups into medical school is being scrutinised. New research in today's New Zealand Medical Journal has found Otago University's affirmative action initiatives haven't increased the number of students from poorer backgrounds. Māori now make up 20% of enrolments, reaching parity with European and Asian enrolments for the first time. But Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman told Mike Hosking the programme wasn't designed to just lift Māori enrolment. He says when it was brought in 50 years ago, it was aimed at improving Māori health outcomes and access. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A health expert is calling a Hawke's Bay scheme targeting services for young Māori and Pacific people lazy virtue signalling.    Health NZ in Hawke's Bay has amended the two-year scheme, which used to provide free GP and nurse services to all residents aged 14 to 24.    From this month, young people must meet one-of-four criteria —including being Māori or Pacific— to be eligible for the scheme.   Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman told Mike Hosking it means they take priority over other young people.   He says resources should be targeted on an individual basis.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health New Zealand's boss says his plan is to strengthen the clinical frontline - and it won't be cut or reduced. Commissioner Lester Levy has emailed staff to address a presentation yesterday, that suggested significant frontline cuts. He told them that directly conflicts with his thinking, and should be dismissed. Auckland University Emeritus Professor Des Gorman says it implies a disconnect between the Commissioner and senior officials. "And I think we're seeing that across all the health portfolios, that the various health ministers are struggling against officials' headwinds. And I think they're all finding it much harder to introduce changes than they thought they would." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Zealand Initiative is again calling for urgent action to secure the GP workforce and expand their role. It says a paper published in this month's New Zealand medical journal about GP's taking a tougher line on accepting new patients shows how broken the system is. The paper says more than three-quarters of practices surveyed have closed their books to new patients or limited enrolments in the last four years Emeritus professor and co-author of the report, Des Gorman, spoke to Corin Dann.

On this week's podcast: Turbo-charged by Covid-19 and a poverty of basic intelligence, common sense and irreparably bad ideas, the New Zealand health care system is in dire straights. We are in crisis, and, as a result, it is at the forefront of election issues.Emeritus Professor Des Gorman levels his sights on the issues and how to resolve them; especially the increasing shortage of GP's.We pay tribute to a great man Merrill Fernando.The mailroom delivers a great collection of comment.And at the back-end of 207, an ex-National MP provides a written assault on the state of politics in NZ.  File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the same day the police watchdog's report into the force's handling of last year's protest and three-week occupation of parliament is being released, a think tank's report into the government's Covid-19 response has found it overly political, lacking adaptability and agility, and needing more transparency. The study called Lifting the Lid: A Critical Analysis of the Covid-19 Pandemic Management in New Zealand and it has been published by The New Zealand Initiative, a pro-free-market think tank. It found Aotearoa was woefully underprepared for a contagious outbreak of this size and failed to capitalise on its geographical location to stem the spread. It goes as far as saying the initial outbreak could have been avoided entirely, but also offers recommendations on how to improve future responses. Auckland University emeritus professor of medicine Des Gorman is one of the lead authors, and he spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss. [picture id="4MO8IDR_copyright_image_240198" crop="16x10" layout="full"]

Hundreds of jobs could be on the line at Te Whatu Ora, as it works to streamline teams that provide corporate or back office roles to better support frontline care. The health agency is consulting on a proposal to cut up to 16-hundred jobs. Te Whatu Ora says it's moving ahead with the next phase of changes,  so it can be as prepared as possible for winter. Auckland University Medical Emeritus Professor Des Gorman told Andrew Dickens while restructure is needed, he's doubtful it will happen.  "There's no question there needs to be a reduction in the back office. But I've never seen a health bureaucracy meaningfully reduce its size," he said.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand is the middle of a healthcare worker shortage and our government is reportedly ignoring offers from medical schools. Otago Medical School has offered to train more students, but the offer has fallen flat. Auckland School of Medicine also made the same offer a year ago and they still haven't heard any update. Auckland University Medical Emeritus Professor Des Gorman joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can someone send some morning tea to the New Zealand Initiative please? Because we finally have an outfit calling out the disaster that is “the modern learning environment”. If you've had a child or grandchild go through school here in New Zealand anytime over the past 10-or-so years, you'll know all about the modern learning environment. Massive, barn-like classrooms with bean bags and tents where the kids - or “the learners” - get involved in “self-directed learning”. It's where the teachers don't teach anymore, because they are learning as the kids learn, apparently. And where you once might have had one teacher for about 30 kids inside a compact classroom - you now get a couple of teachers trying to keep a handle on about 80 kids inside these massive spaces. If I'm sounding a bit dismissive of the whole thing, it's because I am - and I have been for a long time. Which is why I'm delighted that the New Zealand Initiative - which is one of these think tanks with some pretty impressive people on its books - has called out the Ministry of Education big time. People like Dr Eric Crampton and Des Gorman - they're a couple of names you see in the media all the time who are part of the New Zealand Initiative. And I am delighted that it has come out today and said that these modern learning environments that schools up and down the country have been implementing are based on nothing else but ideology. Which is nothing new to me because I spent about six years on a school board when the kids were younger - it was at their primary school - and it seemed back then that every weekend the caretaker was doing overtime knocking out walls between the classrooms. The modern learning environment was the way of the future and we had to get on board, is what the principal kept telling us at board meetings. And I didn't swallow it for a minute. I had no time back then for massive classrooms with 60-to-80 kids, all doing their “self-directed learning”. And I said so too. But I was a bit of a lone voice and so the walls kept getting knocked out. In fact, I was surprised the place stayed upright, there were so many walls being given the heave-ho. Then came the earthquakes in Christchurch and the Ministry of Education rolled into town and announced it would rebuild everything. And what did it want to build? It wanted to build classrooms that looked like an old-school tavern. Cavernous things to give the kids - sorry, the learners - a sense of space, freedom, wonder and exploration. And every time it came up at board of trustee meetings, I just kept thinking to myself that it was nothing more than an experiment driven by ideology and nothing else. Which is why I am so delighted today that the New Zealand Initiative has come out and said exactly the same thing. And it's saying it because the Ministry of Education has not been able to provide the big brains at the New Zealand Initiative with any data or information to show whether this ideologically-driven experiment has actually worked. Dr Michael Johnston from the Initiative went to the Ministry wanting basic information such as the number of modern learning environments in schools in New Zealand, the cost of setting them up and how effective they've been. And do you know what? The Ministry couldn't provide it because it doesn't have it. The Ministry of Education spent billions of dollars on modern learning environments but did no research on their effectiveness before spending all that money and forcing schools to get with the programme. And it's done no evaluation since to find out whether they're working or not. Which actually doesn't even make it an experiment, does it? Because if you do an experiment, you gather a whole lot of data and information and find out if there's any change. So it's just ideology gone mad. Which is shameful. And I'm not just saying that because I've thought all along that this modern learning environment concept is a disaster. I'm also saying it because how the Ministry thinks it's ok to spend billions of dollars without no research beforehand and no evaluation afterwards, I'll never know. And instead of spending billions on modern learning environments - which the Ministry of Education has no idea are working or not - it would've been much wiser to spend that money on actual teachers because they are what make the difference for our kids.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of Tax Payer Talk, Peter Wiliams speaks to Des Gorman - Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Auckland University - about a new paper from the New Zealand Initiative which claims that evidence for a separate Maori Health Authority is seriously lacking. Peter then reads your correspondence. If you'd like to comment on anything you've heard on the show Peter is waiting to hear from you at peter@taxpayers.org.nzSupport the show

Our vaccination rate isn't quite as high as it's being promoted.Stats NZ is reviewing Ministry of Health data which captured those who used the health system in 2020.The 96 percent level claimed could be skewed as Maori have a much lower usage rate of the health system.Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman told Mike Hosking the actual percentage will be much less than 90.“I think, you're looking at something like if you look at the booster rate of 52 percent, I think that drops to about 35 percent for Maori for example, so it makes quite a dramatic difference.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Des Gorman, Professor of Medicine at Auckland University. He was Head of the School of Medicine from 2005-2010.We had a wide ranging discussion on multiple matters; science, philosophy, education, intelligence, the shortcomings of governance and what binds us together.File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nzHaven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide.Listen here on iHeartRadioLeighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here

Des Gorman, Professor of Medicine at Auckland University. He was Head of the School of Medicine from 2005-2010.We had a wide ranging discussion on multiple matters; science, philosophy, education, intelligence, the shortcomings of governance and what binds us together.File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nzHaven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide.Listen here on iHeartRadioLeighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here

Could New Zealand adopt New South Wales' Covid-19 roadmap? The Australian state is fast tracking new freedoms for fully vaccinated residents from Monday.  It includes removing limit on house gatherings, opening sports stadiums and cinemas, and even allowing dancing in nightclubs.  The unvaccinated people must wait until December 15, or until the state reaches a 95-percent vax rate.  Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman, says it's good plan, that could work here. “People need encouragement, people need some sort of reward and the best way to reward people is for behaviour that actually keeps them safe.” LISTEN ABOVE 

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Predictable but disappointing.That's how one expert is describing the decision to keep Auckland under current Level Three restrictions for another two weeks.Emeritus Professor Des Gorman told Andrew Dickens the Government had to balance the chorus of experts wanting Level Four with the reality compliance is slipping.He says he's disappointed because what we needed today was clarity - with timelines and what the endgame looks like.“Mothers and fathers homeschooling, the people whose businesses are going bust, people whose jobs are at threat, people whose mental health is deteriorating, they didn't need ‘tune in on Wednesday and Friday and we'll tell you the next instalment,' they needed clarity, they needed hope.”LISTEN ABOVE

Vaccination is the only way out of the Delta outbreak.That's the message from a medical expert after the Government reported 71 new Covid community cases in Auckland today.Officials are warning daily infections will double in the next fortnight.Auckland University Emeritus Professor Des Gorman told Heather du Plessis-Allan short sharp lockdowns have been useful, but things have changed.“The time you're getting to nine weeks and you're seeing numbers going up and up and up, it's impossible to imagine that the public will continue to comply with very strict stay-at-home guidelines.”Gorman says the impact on hospitals could be similar to during flu season in winter and the level of sickness required to visit hospital or ICU will go up.“The system will cope. It always has, it always will. But what you'll see is avoidable deaths occurring, particularly in the elderly, and you'll see a lot of people with cancer, heart disease and so on whose care will be deferred or delayed.”LISTEN ABOVE

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A suggestion Auckland's boundary could stay closed until after Labour Weekend.The Prime Minister has signalled even if Auckland moves down an alert level next week the region's highly likely to stay shut off from the rest of the country.Auckland University medical Professor Des Gorman says it must change eventually. "I think the problem for the Government is knowing what the conditions are to enable it to be relaxed. So right now, given that they're not sure what that means, they're just going to say that we need to do something. And one of the things we're going to do is stop Aucklanders from moving out of Auckland."At some point, it will be feasible to ask Aucklanders to take a test if they want to leave the region, he says."I think Aucklanders will find it almost intolerable to be locked up much beyond Labour Weekend, and if the price of travel is that you have to have a test and you have to be vaccinated, then so be it - that's a small price to pay."New Zealand has 19 new Community cases today - and Henderson and Papakura are now suburbs of interest.LISTEN ABOVE

Support for the views of Sir John Key.Some have labelled the former Prime Minister's assessment of the Government's Covid-19 response as naive and out of touch.But an outspoken critic of the Government's Covid response is backing Key's views.Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman told Kate Hawkesby the Government is relying too much on fear to get people vaccinated.“Fear's not the way you get sustainable changes in human behaviour. Fear makes people unwell. We need to demonstrate to people what the rewards and privileges are of vaccination and complying with public health measures.”LISTEN ABOVE

Increasing the fines for breaching covid rules is a nonsense isn't it?   The PM cannot seriously expect us to buy this.  This is clearly designed to make it look like her government is cracking down on lockdown rule breakers when they're doing nothing of the sort.      The Prime Minister announced this afternoon that fines are going up   On-the-spot fines for individuals who break the rules will go from 300 dollars to 4000 dollars. For companies that goes up to 12,000 dollars. Court-imposed fines for individuals go from 1000 dollars to 12000 dollars. And for companies it rises to 15,000 dollars.    But first problem: these fines only come in from November. Hands up who thinks Auckland is still in lockdown in November.  If that's the case we've got much bigger problems on our hands than handing out fines.    And in any case, what does lifting fines matter if the cops aren't enforcing and fining in any case?   The list of people who've broken the rules and faced no sanction that we're aware of is rather long. The Wanaka couple - who as good as admitted what they'd done - 12 days on: still no charges. The guy who broke into north shore hospital: not charged. The passenger in the car taking the black power gang associate to the Waikato who crossed the Auckland border and then didn't return to Auckland: not charged    Makes no difference if you increase the fines if you don't plan to use the fines does it?      You want to really crack down on rule breakers?  Send in the cops in.  If you've got the whole suburb of clover park in South Auckland now required to be tested, then you've potentially got massive rule breaking going on there. Why not patrol the streets?   If you've got police and health apparently tracking down 50+ mongrel mob members to urgently test them then you've got multiple bubble breaches.  Why not park some cops outside the gang pads and make sure they stay home?   This is not something I'm making up.  This is essentially what Des Gorman was suggesting on this show a week ago.  That if you want a failing lockdown to work, you need to consider increasing enforcement.      We can all see how much rule breaking is clearly going on here.   But none of us can see the authorities on the ground trying to stop it.   So increasing the fines?  That's not fooling me, and I'm not sure how many people it will fool.   It's just nonsense.  

A medical expert says Auckland's lockdown isn't working - and extending it won't either.Auckland University Emeritus Professor Des Gorman claims ongoing problems aren't being addressed and extra measures are required.Gorman says there are a few reasons for new cases. One, he says is that essential workers are getting infected. He says a solution to this is daily saliva testing.A second way in which we could be getting new cases is through chains of transmission in the community we're not aware. Gorman says we should set up mass surveillance saliva testing at supermarkets and pharmacies where the epicentres are, to flush out these chains of transmission.The third explanation he says is people simply not complying with level 4 rules. To remedy this he believes we need community lead surveillance.He says shutting down this outbreak is going to require something different.LISTEN ABOVE

The latest Delta outbreak has forced a Government rethink, on recently announced plans to reopen the border. The Government still intends to go ahead with a trial, to allow some fully vaccinated overseas travellers from low-risk countries to self-isolate at home upon arrival. But the plans on how to reopen borders early next year will have to be completely rew Auckland University Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman told Kate Hawkesby Delta strain seems to have caught the Government by surprise. "We've known abut Delta since late last year, yet when this outbreak occurred we simply weren't ready, 80 percent of us weren't vaccinated." LISTEN ABOVE 

A medical expert says not enough safety precautions are being taken with those crossing the border south of Auckland. Twenty-three thousand people with exemptions drove out of the city's alert level 4 lockdown yesterday. While police reported few problems, Auckland University emeritus professor of medicine Des Gorman says more health precautions are needed.

The Government is possibly running out of vaccines in September and it could be their own fault. In May Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Newstalk ZB that Pfizer had confirmed that New Zealand would receive 8 million doses in the third quarter, saying “we will get them all by the end of September.” But the shipment has now been revealed to be being delivered in October, leaving the possibility of New Zealand running out of vaccines in September. But looking back at a June interview Heather do Plessis-Allan did with Hipkins, it revealed the delay may be the Government's own doing. In the interview he said that while Pfizer was still committed to the September deadline, the Government was talking to them about delivering some of those doses in October and November. Auckland University Emeritus Professor Des Gorman says he's “gobsmacked” to find that [the Government] have “been deliberately delaying or asking for deliveries to be delayed.”  A delay that will cause our vaccination rate to go down, in the middle of a lockdown, which Gorman attributes to being because we don't have a high vaccination rate. Hipkins in his June interview suggested the delay was to make sure “we don't end up with a whole lot sitting in the freezer.” But Gorman says they can last for very long periods of time and last weeks or months once defrosted. Gorman says in his opinion this vaccine rollout has been “not handled properly.”  

The Government recorded 82 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday -- bringing our current outbreak to 429.  376 of those cases have clear epidemiological links to another case or sub-cluster -- links haven't fully been established yet for the others. Professor Des Gorman says the rise in numbers is predictable as "we're seeing a lag in reporting cases and a lag and people getting tested." Because of this lag, he suggests cases may have already peaked, but that there is a delay in reporting. However he says it's important not to over interpret things.He also suggests a lag in people being tested could have contributed to more people in the house being infected.He also says that long term he doesn't believe it's possible to maintain an elimination strategy if no one else in the world is, but supports it while we're still getting vaccinated.LISTEN ABOVE

There are 68 new cases in the community, bringing it to 263 in Auckland, 14 in Wellington, and a total number of 277.  Increasing numbers of experts are predicting a very long lockdown for Auckland. Shaun Hendy says 4 weeks, Dr David Skegg says maybe months, but Emeritus Professor of Medicine Des Gorman thinks the outbreak will peak by the weekend or early next week, then we'll be able to go down the levels. He also called out the Ministry of Health for being unprepared for Delta, saying “getting caught with your pants down early last year was one thing, but this is time and time again.” LISTEN ABOVE 

With New Zealand in a snap lockdown amid a Covid-19 outbreak of the Delta strain, questions are being asked of the Government's elimination strategy to manage the virus going forward. Medical professor Des Gorman told Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills we need the elimination strategy until our population is vaccinated and after that we will need a new approach. 

Oliver Hartwich and Eric Crampton talk to University of Auckland's Professor Des Gorman (Ngāpuhi), from the University's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. The team discuss New Zealand's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and what could be done differently.

It is time to move away from a "reactive isolationist response" and lower the draw bridge to the outside world, according to one health expert. In an editorial for the Internal Medicine Journal Auckland University Professor of Medicine Des Gorman argues for a dedicated pandemic response agency as we move to next phase of our Covid-19 recovery. The agency would develop a pandemic plan, border and quarantine management, tracing and isolation capacity. Next week the Prime Minister will reveal her thinking around border restrictions and how the vaccination rollout could change that. Professor Gorman discusses the issue with Lisa Owen.  

I was incredulous at the news we'd had a breach in protocols during the transfer of the Covid patient from Fiji.I shouldn't have been, it was always a possibility, and perhaps one of the reasons the medics were so against the transfer in the first place. But to hear that a “PPE protocol incident” had occurred and ended up lumping a health worker into Jet Park for two weeks in MIQ, left me aghast.Imagine being that health worker – already stretched with RSV raging through the hospitals, your colleagues have all said no thanks to this patient coming, you've been over ruled by politicians, and then – beyond your control, the patient gets flown here, and wham, you're into MIQ for two weeks.Away from your family, out at the Jet Park, isolating.Cool.How completely unnecessary.Medical experts have been leaping up and down about this since before we even took the patient, but over the weekend Professor of Medicine Des Gorman leapt up and down too.He criticised the decision saying "it's a pity" health workers here have been put at risk. It is indeed a pity.The Ministry's reported as saying "any risks from this incident are low," but why are we taking any risks at all?What happened to abundance of caution?What happened to zero risk?We only need to look to our friends across the Tasman to know how virulent this Delta variant is.We only need to look at the turtle pace of our vaccine rollout here to know how ill prepared we are.We don't contact trace enough anymore, we don't wear the mandatory masks we're supposed to on public transport, we are not remotely ready to handle an outbreak here, so why take any risks at all?Of course as I said last week, this was never a medical decision and you can't blame the UN worker at the centre of it, it's not her fault, and we hope she recovers well.But for the government to ignore the medics, who they've followed so religiously throughout this whole pandemic, who they've stood shoulder to shoulder with at press conferences, relied on, put everything into the hands of to then suddenly ignore them?Let's not forget, as Des Gorman pointed out, "Eighty-five percent of New Zealanders are not vaccinated, they're not immune," he told Newshub.So as he said, this makes us “unbelievably vulnerable”.And that's not a time to take risks.What we have here, is a continuity problem.Medical staff say no, yet suddenly the government can ignore the advice of clinicians.Either you respect the medical profession and take their advice, or you don't.But what the government now seems to be doing, is picking and choosing when they'll take that advice.And if it doesn't suit their political agenda, they won't.

The race is on for New Zealanders to get back from Australia following the Government's decision to pause the Trans-Tasman bubble for eight weeks.Kiwis over in Australia have 7 days to get back into New Zealand with those travelling from New South Wales needing to stay in MIQ.However, there have been questions over the decision not to enforce an MIQ stay on those returning from other states.Des Gorman a Professor of Medicine at the University of Auckland is one of those questioning this decision.Tim Beveridge spoke to him about why this decision could be problematic and why Kiwi's would find another lockdown intolerable.

Fifteen crew from the Viking Bay, who have all tested positive for the Covid-19 virus, are now in MIQ in Wellington. But unlike Jetpark in Auckland, the Wellington MIQ hotel is used by both sick and well people in isolation. Auckland professor of medicine Des Gorman says this situation has danger written all over it. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, or MBIE, which runs the MIQ was not available to be interviewed today. Ministry of Health director of public health Caroline McElnay spoke to Perlina Lau.

A medical specialist says 15 foreign fishermen, who are in MIQ in Wellington, pose a risk and should be kept locked in their rooms. The men, one of whom has the Delta variant, are among the crew of the deep-sea vessel Viking Bay which berthed on Monday. Five other crew members have been allowed to remain on board, but the situation alarms. Auckland University professor of medicine Des Gorman. He spoke to Perlina Lau.

Fifteen crew from the Viking Bay, who have all tested positive for the Covid-19 virus, are now in MIQ in Wellington. But unlike Jetpark in Auckland, the Wellington MIQ hotel is used by both sick and well people in isolation. Auckland professor of medicine Des Gorman says this situation has danger written all over it. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, or MBIE, which runs the MIQ was not available to be interviewed today. Ministry of Health director of public health Caroline McElnay spoke to Perlina Lau.

A medical specialist says 15 foreign fishermen, who are in MIQ in Wellington, pose a risk and should be kept locked in their rooms. The men, one of whom has the Delta variant, are among the crew of the deep-sea vessel Viking Bay which berthed on Monday. Five other crew members have been allowed to remain on board, but the situation alarms. Auckland University professor of medicine Des Gorman. He spoke to Perlina Lau.

Thirteen more crew members have tested positive for Covid-19 in managed isolation after coming off a ship docked at Wellington - and another ship has docked at Port Taranaki with crew suffering "flu-like" symptoms.The Ministry of Health confirmed new cases aboard the Viking Bay in Wellington on Tuesday morning.Two members of the crew tested positive last week. At least one has the highly infectious Delta variant.The 15 crew members are now being transferred to a quarantine facility in Wellington.Auckland University professor Des Gorman joined Nick Mills on Wellington Mornings.LISTEN ABOVE

A professor of medicine thinks the Government's plan to partially reopen the trans-Tasman bubble is "reckless".Cabinet has decided, in principle, to lift its pause on quarantine-free travel with South Australia, Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania - starting 11:59pm July 4th. However, Professor of Medicine at Auckland University Des Gorman told Heather du Plessis-Allan the plan is concerning.“I've been very worried about the consistent approach to risk management and how we've been driven by optics and political risk or popularity risk, rather than the actual risk of what's confronting us."Gorman thinks the bubble should've stayed closed for another three days."90 per cent of Kiwis are not vaccinated, the Delta Strain is something that spreads very quickly and our contact tracing is quite poor, and we're not in an economic position to accommodate anymore level three or four lockdowns.“Level two's not the end of the world for goodness sake – the world doesn't end if we keep our bubble closed”.He doesn't believe New Zealand can get through the winter without an outbreak.“It's highly probable we will have an outbreak and we talk about having dodged bullets but relying on luck is not a long term strategy.”LISTEN ABOVE 

The government will deliver its verdict today on both the trans-Tasman travel bubble and Wellington's alert level status. Quarantine free travel from all Australian states and territories was paused on Saturday night until just before midnight on Tuesday, but the Prime Minister says there's still a lot of uncertainty. Many Wellingtonians are also keen to hear whether the current level two restrictions will be eased. Auckland University professor of medicine Des Gorman spoke to Susie Ferguson.

The government will deliver its verdict today on both the trans-Tasman travel bubble and Wellington's alert level status. Quarantine free travel from all Australian states and territories was paused on Saturday night until just before midnight on Tuesday, but the Prime Minister says there's still a lot of uncertainty. Many Wellingtonians are also keen to hear whether the current level two restrictions will be eased. Auckland University professor of medicine Des Gorman spoke to Susie Ferguson.

New Zealand's Covid-19 response is swinging into action again after a positive case in Sydney was announced.  Auckland University Professor Des Gorman talks to Jesse about the bubble between New Zealand and Australia.

Quarantine-free travel from New South Wales to New Zealand was paused at midnight last night and will be in place for at least 72 hours. That followed the announcement of 10 new cases on Tuesday - all of which are believed to be the more infectious Delta variant. The Premier of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian said people appear to have picked up the virus while briefly passing through infectious spaces. The state's Health minister Brad Hazzard said that the Delta variant is the most transmissible strain yet detected. Announcing the pause to the travel bubble, the Minister for the Covid-19 response Chris Hipkins said the source of the new infections needs to be investigated before travel resumes. Hipkins added the risk to New Zealand remains low, but there are still several unknowns. Auckland professor of medicine Des Gorman spoke to Susie Ferguson.

Quarantine-free travel from New South Wales to New Zealand was paused at midnight last night and will be in place for at least 72 hours. That followed the announcement of 10 new cases on Tuesday - all of which are believed to be the more infectious Delta variant. The Premier of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian said people appear to have picked up the virus while briefly passing through infectious spaces. The state's Health minister Brad Hazzard said that the Delta variant is the most transmissible strain yet detected. Announcing the pause to the travel bubble, the Minister for the Covid-19 response Chris Hipkins said the source of the new infections needs to be investigated before travel resumes. Hipkins added the risk to New Zealand remains low, but there are still several unknowns. Auckland professor of medicine Des Gorman spoke to Susie Ferguson.

An expert is warning New Zealand could run out of Covid-19 vaccines.Professor Des Gorman says If the Government's own figures are to be believed, vaccines could run out as early as next Monday.On Tuesday Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced 20,000 doses are being administered every day.His office this afternoon admitted DHBs will be asked to slow the rollout down, but it's unclear what this mean for people who are due to get their second vaccines.Professor Gorman told Heather du Plessis-Allan this is the factor the Government has the least control over."I do have some real sympathy for them in this regard as they clearly they doesn't have the leverage nor the contracts on a time  where they have to slow down the vaccinations."He says that the Government should just give people the vaccine rather than slow it down. "Slowing it down is about optics, not about doing the right thing. If you've got vaccine, then for goodness sake, put it in someone's arm. LISTEN ABOVE  

Auckland University professor of medicine Des Gorman tells Tim Roxborogh and Tim Beveridge why we need to be concerned about the recent revelation that 3800 border workers are yet to receive their first COVID-19 jab. 

Auckland University professor of medicine Des Gorman tells Tim Roxborogh and Tim Beveridge why we need to be concerned about the recent revelation that 3800 border workers are yet to receive their first COVID-19 jab. 

Many countries around the world are seeing a Covid-19 surge, which some are saying should be a warning for Australia and New Zealand.Nations like Taiwan, Singapore, and Thailand, once celebrated for their response to the coronavirus pandemic, are now grappling with a sudden surge in cases, with large swathes of their populations unvaccinated.As long as less than half the population is vaccinated, New Zealand and other elimination countries remain vulnerable to outbreaks.  Auckland University Professor of Medicine Des Gorman told Kerre McIvor he has a few reservations about our Covid-19 response of late."There are a number of reasons why I'm very worried about our immunisation strategy. The software is not good, the booking system is a joke at the moment, sadly, we don't have enough vaccinators. The fact we've kept telling ourselves for so long how good we are has led to complacency."LISTEN ABOVE

Des Gorman speaks to Jesse about the problems at the borders when it comes to managing the vaccine roll out for workers.

This week we drill down on the knowledge, wisdom and opinion of Des Gorman, Professor of Medicine in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland.Of course, Covid-19, but we talk about many other life-matters that affect us all. We discuss science, philosophy, education, intelligence, the shortcomings of governance, and what binds us together.Share it with your friends.. and the not so friendly.File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nzHaven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide.Listen here on iHeartRadioLeighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here 

This week we drill down on the knowledge, wisdom and opinion of Des Gorman, Professor of Medicine in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland.Of course, Covid-19, but we talk about many other life-matters that affect us all. We discuss science, philosophy, education, intelligence, the shortcomings of governance, and what binds us together.Share it with your friends.. and the not so friendly.File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nzHaven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide.Listen here on iHeartRadioLeighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here 

There's concern people will choose not to scan Covid-19 QR codes because they can't afford to go into self isolation.More than 1000 people who were at Kmart Botany at the times of interest have been asked to stay home for 14 days.Up to $585 per week is available for people who can't work because they need to isolate.Auckland University's Des Gorman told Heather du Plessis-Allan he is disappointed the Government isn't willing to increase the payments.He says compliance matters, and we have already see the cost non-compliance in this country. "I don't think the Government's thinking clearly enough about the counterfactual, the cost of lockdowns."Whatever the cost of properly subsidising people is, it's going to be small against the cost of lockdowns." However, Gorman also wants to see close or casual contacts more accountable for not complying. He says that there needs to be some surrendering of privileges in order to protect the community. "If you don't go and get tested in Sydney, you're not allowed back at school. Quite clearly, if you're not compliant, you shouldn't be allowed in the workplace."There has to be some degree of ostracisation." Gorman says that ringing people constantly is not "serious enough" - and Taiwan, for example, did door knocks very early in the contact tracing process. LISTEN ABOVE

Calls for a purpose built quarantine centre that is located miles away from our cities and our biggest population masses are growing. All the big names in immunology - Nick Wilson, Des Gorman and Michael Baker - have said its absolute madness to house returnees carrying the different Covid strains into hotels in our biggest cities. We have 18 hotels in Auckland, three in Hamilton, two in Wellington and six in Christchurch - our most populous cities and we bang quarantine facilities smack bang in the middle of them. People are people and, despite the very best of intentions, accidents happen, and people, on occasion, will behave badly.  Since the army have taken over the running of the hotels, there haven't been quite as many returnees going walkabout and popping into their local Countdown but nonetheless the possibility is always there - and once the Covid cooties are out and about, the ramifications of Covid in the community are devastating.Now National's Covid spokesman Chris Bishop has jumped on the bandwagon and called for a purpose built facility on the outskirts of Auckland. He says, and he's quite right and nobody would disagree, that NZ can't afford to keep yo-yoing in and out of lockdown and the Auckland economy can't afford to keep bleeding $30 million a day. While employees probably enjoyed their three days off this week in Auckland, it's caused major disruption in the city and indeed for the rest of the country. We're going to have to learn to live with Covid - vaccinations or no vaccinations - and if that means forking out for a purpose built quarantine facility, then that's the price of living with this virus.Listen above as Chris Bishop joins Kerre McIvor to discuss his proposal

The Government has been criticised for their communications on Covid-19 alert levels.Yesterday, Jacinda Ardern announced Auckland would move to Alert Level Two after three days spent at Level Three due to a number of cases in the community.However, the announcement of the alert levels was made after a health update from Ashley Bloomfield. Auckland University medical professor Des Gorman told Mike Hosking drawing out the announcement just makes people anxious."If I'm seeing a patient and I'm going to give them bad news, I give it to them in the first 30 seconds and spend the rest of the time managing their response to it. I don't make them wait 15 minutes while I rabbit on about all sorts of things."In other news, free period products will be made available for all schools and kura from June.A pilot's been running in 15 Waikato schools and kura since term three last year - providing about three-thousand-200 young people products.Now all schools and kura nationwide can opt in to the initiative.The Government wants fewer young people to miss school because of their period, and to reduce financial hardship for families.And in sports news, Prada Cup fans will have to wait until weekend for the resumption of racing.Officials have confirmed Luna Rossa and INEOS Team UK will return to the water on Saturday at 4pm for two races.Race courses B and C won't be used for racing, to mitigate the chance of large public gatherings on shore, which are in line with Government level two restrictions in Auckland.It comes after Luna Rossa refused to delay the races until Auckland was at Level One.Listen above as Simon Wilson and Tim Wilson discuss the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan on The Huddle

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced this year will be the year of the vaccine.Speaking at Labour's first caucus meeting in Nelson, Ardern says getting people vaccinated will take time, and won't happen all at once.She also warned that we won't just see Covid-19 disappear and our goal would have to be that we manage Covid-19 much like we manage the flu. However, Auckland University professor of medicine Des Gorman told Heather du Plessis-Allan he is worried about this rollout.He says that there were enough issues with the flu vaccine rollout last year, that he has doubts that the Government can competently deliver the various vaccines that all require different methods of storage and delivery. "This is a huge logistical challenge, and what we've seen in the last year is an inability to deliver on simple logistics."Gorman says that the hesitancy in getting the rollout right is one reason why the country could be waiting for a vaccine. And while Covid-19 could evolve in a way that it could become less deadly over time, Gorman criticised the Prime Minister for comparing Covid-19 to the flu. "This is a very nasty bug that makes people very, very sick. I don't think you can say you can tolerate it in the community." LISTEN ABOVE 

After a day of celebration and heartache, Americans face a harsh reality with the Covid-19 crisis.A record 112,816 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised Tuesday, according to the Covid Tracking Project.That will inevitably lead to more deaths as Christmas and New Year's Day get closer.And while more doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are sent across the country this week, there won't be enough for everyone who wants it for months."This vaccine, as wonderful as it is, is not going to change the trajectory of what we experience this winter," said Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."It's not going to change what we need to do. It's not going change the need for us all to wear masks, and social distance and wash our hands."The FDA authorises a fully at-home testThe US Food and Drug Administration gave emergency authorisation Tuesday for the first Covid-19 test that can be fully taken at home.Other at-home tests require a prescription or require people to send test samples to a lab to get results. But the Covid-19 home test developed by Australian company Ellume is sold over-the-counter and produces results that can be read at home."Today's authorization is a major milestone in diagnostic testing for COVID-19," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in a written statement. "By authorizing a test for over-the-counter use, the FDA allows it to be sold in places like drug stores, where a patient can buy it, swab their nose, run the test and find out their results in as little as 20 minutes."The test uses an analyzer that connects with a software application on a smartphone to help users perform the test and interpret results, the FDA said.The Ellume test is an antigen test that "correctly identified 96% of positive samples and 100% of negative samples in individuals with symptoms," the FDA said.In people without symptoms, the test correctly identified 91% of positive samples and 96% of negative samples, the FDA said.Because the test isn't perfect, people who get a negative result should still presume they may be infected and act accordingly -- wearing a mask and keeping away from others.Ellume expects to produce more than 3 million tests in January. When it applied for emergency use authorization, the company said it would charge $30 for the test.Text by CNN

New Zealand has seen that, from a health perspective, the elimination approach to Covid 19 of going hard and going early, works - but how sustainable is it long term?Can we afford to put the country, or our biggest city, into lockdown should there be future outbreaks?What other options are out there for us?Auckland University medical professor Des Gorman told Francesca Rudkin that the country has operational and competency issues that mean our strategy needs to be changed."I think the idea of stamping it out and our current elimination strategy needs to be reset."He says that Auckland should be level 2, but the country needs a secure border and contact tracing needs to be at a better level similar to Taiwan. Gorman says that the Ministry of Health has a resource issue, and they should be able to chase up contacts much faster  - ideally within a day."80 per cent of contacts within 48 hours, with all due respect is not good enough. If that's gold standard, I'd hate to see what bronze standard is." He thinks there will likely be a vaccine by the end of the year, but it could take a year to mass-produce it enough, meaning we have to maintain level 1 or 2 for the next 18 months. Gorman says alert level 4 made sense, but they don't make much sense outside of that.LISTEN ABOVE