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Alistar Kata needs to be told to exercise! She is such a pretty lady but her weight has doubled since starting with TVNZ. Not a good example.

Dear Team of TV New Zealand



We are writing because we are concerned about recent articles from the press that were misleading, insufficiently researched and likely to promote confusion. Below are two subjects (among others) that were reported over the last week, both on TV and tabloid.



Pushing for New Zealand to adopt a second vaccine of a different type:



The report was about countries in Europe preparing for a second dose with a different type of vaccine i.e. the first vaccine Astra Zeneca (a vector vaccine) and the second vaccine Pfizer BioNTech (a mRNA vaccine). The report suggested that New Zealand should look into doing the same. However, New Zealand is in a different position. The Astra Zenaca vaccine has had issues right from the start: first regarding the reliability for elderly and then adverse effects in younger people. The final result so far being that it should preferably be used in elderly people with the age differing by country. Astra Zenaca; even with the unwanted side-effects, does not seem to be as reliable in the immune response as the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. Evidence suggests that after a first dose of Astra Zeneca a second dose of Pfizer BioNTech (or another RNA vaccine like Moderna) increases the immune response but still seems to fall short of a two doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccination.

As we have the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine there is no need to contemplate the combination with another vaccine at this stage.

The virus has only been known for one and a half years so there will still be developments in the knowledge of the virus and vaccines. It may help improve confidence in science if the reporting made this clear from time to time.





Saliva tests for New Zealand border workers:



Saliva tests are certainly good screening tests in environments with community transmission. They serve to detect a high number of positive cases (accuracy of 83% for positive cases and about 99% for negative cases) and are used for example in schools in Europe. On the other hand PCR tests are used in an environment where high accuracy is needed: 95 to 97 % for positive cases. This is of advantage in an environment where you have extremely few, if any, positive cases and are relying on detecting positive cases as accurately as possible. This would be the case for New Zealand in our present COVID free environment. A single undetected case of the Delta-variant can cause a major outbreak in the community. This is why we need the most reliable (positive) test available.







We were impressed in the second half of last year when “fact checks” were done that provided valuable information and supported further investigation into reports. They were well researched and certainly contributed to bringing back our confidence in the media. Too much attention seems to go into “social media” and some “traditional media “ feel pushed by it. Leading to an unfortunate mixture between news and opinion (pushing commentary). A responsible news agency should provide factual information that is appropriate for the situation at hand (e.g. New Zealand’s relatively unique situation of being without community cases for over 120 days and able to tightly control borders to continue this). Providing sensationalist media pieces to stir a reaction is already more than adequately covered by social media. The USA is presenting an excellent example of what happens if the mainstream news media joins in with such tactics.



Kind regards



Wolfram Gessler

27 Powells Road

Oxford 7430

olive@xtra.co.nz

Toni Street is doing an amazing job hosting the Olympics. I just love her inclusiveness of all her guests. Thank you