Editorial: Covid-19 still a health hazard and Govt’s funding calls need to reflect that

National rates of Covid-19 have surged to their highest levels since New Zealand’s fifth wave began, the latest wastewater data shows, as the Government mulls whether to stop funding free test kits at pharmacies. Photo / Bevan Conley

EDITORIAL

It appears New Zealand’s Covid-19 response is moving towards a new phase. Lockdowns, alert levels and pandemic panic shopping are well behind us.

Mask mandates, too, are a thing of the past - though some clinics and medical centres still request patients wear one when visiting.

Gone are the isolation rules requiring anyone who tests positive to remain at home for a set number of days.

And now health officials are considering cutting funding for free rapid-antigen tests (RATs) from the end of next month.

Universal funding for Covid-19 vaccines and boosters is also not guaranteed to continue, with new Health Minister Shane Reti last month refusing to say whether the Government will keep funding the jab.

It’s understandable why this funding is under review - New Zealand’s health system is extremely stretched and the Government’s coffers are hardly jam-packed.

This graph, up to January 7, shows average Sars-CoV-2 genome copies detected per person per day in wastewater for New Zealand, with the reported case numbers. Source / ESR

And Covid-19 policies are expensive, with Opposition MPs last year accusing the Labour Government of financial mismanagement over $500 million worth of RAT tests being left in stock and some expiring before they could be used.

Last year’s Budget allocated $295m for the Covid-19 vaccine programme.

This was made up of $165.2m for Pharmac to purchase vaccines and antivirals in the 2023-24 financial year (well down on the $886.9m spent in 2022-23) and $129.9m to deliver the vaccine to people.

The Government is right to review this funding to ensure the money is being spent efficiently but Reti should be wary about deep cuts to these programmes.

Covid-19 is still a health hazard, with national rates of the coronavirus this month surging to their highest levels since New Zealand’s fifth wave began.

ESR’s most recent surveillance showed a national average of 8.59 million copies of the virus detected per person per day in wastewater at January 7 - three times the levels observed in mid-spring and higher than the largest values reported over December.

The latest Ministry of Health data showed weekly hospitalisations continued to number in the hundreds, with 324 people receiving care as at midnight January 16.

The reason that these numbers aren’t higher still is due to New Zealand’s vaccination rates - something that has meant that the lockdowns of years gone by are no longer a feature of our lives when waves of Covid roll through.

Fewer people, however, will opt to get the vaccine, or a booster, if they have to pay for it themselves.

Fewer people, too, will test when they develop symptoms if they must purchase their own RATs. This, in turn, will likely mean further spread in the community, putting more pressure on an already buckling health system. As with so many of life’s problems, poorer households will be disproportionately affected.

Many New Zealanders are keen to move on from the Covid era and no doubt the Government is keen to do the same when deciding which policies to fund.

For now, though, there are no signs the virus is going away - and the Government’s Covid-19 spending should reflect that.