mastodon 4.7.2Lifelong learner, wife, mother, languages nerd
– interested in education, science, climate action, women's health, neurodiversity, disability advocacy (she/her)
Not living in fear but not living in denial either. 😷
#CovidIsNotOver
Toitū Te Tiriti ✊ Tangata Tiriti
#TransRightsAreHumanRights 🏳️⚧️
💚 NZ Greens 💚
#sewing
At the moment, I practice making patterns from clothes I own. I trialled making a skirt from a pattern, using an old bed sheet. It turned out nice enough that I thought it would be a shame not to wear it, only it had some stains and discolourations. So I dug through my box of scraps to cover those and found a piece of fabric I bought years ago for making a kids mermaid costume. Never knew what to do with the leftover piece until now: JELLYFISH!
The more hostile the world gets, the more whimsy I've introduced to my life as a coping mechanism. So here we are, my new jellyfish skirt! 🪼
While our govt doesn't give a fig about (Long) Covid, the NZ Health survey has at least added questions about Covid and LC. With a bit of prompting and a new wave hitting the motu, they've finally published the results. The data relies on self-reporting as getting a formal diagnosis of LC is often not possible or complex.
Key findings:
- Nearly 4 out of 5 adults reported ever having COVID-19.
- About 1 in 11 of all adults reported ever having long COVID symptoms (11.9% of those who had Covid).
- Women (14.9%), Māori (15.5%), and disabled adults (22.8%) were more likely to report ever having long COVID symptoms.
- Approximately 185,000 adults were experiencing long COVID symptoms in 2024/25.
This is affecting a lot of people. With the damage and the risk of LC increasing with every infection, this number is only going to grow.
The really frustrating part is that it doesn't have to be this way. We have the knowledge how to limit transmission but hardly anything is being done.
#CovidNZ
If you're planning on getting a Covid booster this winter, please be aware that Health NZ has just changed their recommendations today. Under additional doses, it now says that healthy people between the ages of 30-64 years are not generally recommended to have extra doses. 🤯
In the pop up box about exceptions it says that you can get a booster IF YOU REQUEST IT. I've already heard of people who were turned away at their pharmacy after IMAC (immunisation advisory centre) published their guidelines earlier this month.
This is absolutely outrageous given we're in the middle of a Covid wave and on the brink of winter. Two weeks ago, numerous experts made the rounds in the media, saying people should get their six-monthly boosters bc they protect against serious outcomes, including Long Covid. And now this! I'm absolutely furious!
This will further discourage people from getting boosters and likely result in more post-viral illness. WTAF?!
This is a great little video by The Spinoff on the current Covid wave and what to do about it. Fun to watch!
https://youtu.be/JqWx2W39Zbw
