The Wire with Joel

With New Zealand entering Lockdown Level 4, support for people's health is more needed than ever. Today, 95bFM reporter Conor investigated the support systems that are in place for domestic violence and mental health. They spoke to Holly Carrington, Policy Advisor at SHINE, about the support SHINE offers. Then they spoke to Anna Elders, Chair of NZHIT's Mental Health Industry Group, about the options for digital mental health support.

When it is reported that a fully vaccinated person has caught Covid-19, there tends to be confusion as to how it happened. News and Editoral Director Jemima Huston wanted to provide some clarification about what it means to be vaccinated. 

Jemima speaks to Dr Nikki Turner, Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre at the University of Auckland, about some common concerns surrounding Covid-19 vaccines. As an expert in the area, she clarifies that you can catch Covid-19 when you are vaccinated, as the vaccination only takes the sting out of the virus and significantly reduces the risk of a person getting severely ill or dying from Covid-19. She also provides clarification as to whether the vaccine protects against the Delta variant, whether it’s normal to feel unwell after being vaccinated and if it’s safe to follow through with your vaccine appointment during the national Level 4 lockdown. 

Disclaimer: This piece went to air at 12pm on August 19 2021. At this stage only 10 commnuity cases had been detected in New Zealand's Delta outbreak. 

This week on Dear Science, Frances speaks with AUT professor Allan Blackman about a new analysis of a scurvy study that is leading to updates on vitamin C needs, critics who say a childhood asthma study unethically withheld care from its participants, and a new laser-powered nuclear fusion effort which neared ignition.

This week on the Wednesday Wire, Zazi Hewlett and Frances Wright work remotely from home in their bubbles after the country went into lockdown last night, with Jemima hosting the show and bringing us the news. 

Frances has her regular segment Dear Science with Allan Blackman. They talk about a new analysis to do with a scurvy study that is leading to updates on vitamin C needs; chat about critics who say a Childhood Asthma Study unethically withheld care from its participants; and then finally discuss a new laser-powered nuclear fusion effort which neared ignition. 

Zazi then speaks to Professor Miguel Quiñones-Mateu, the department of Microbiology and Immunology. They talk about the investigation on wastewater and how it can be used to get a more accurate picture of COVID-19 cases in low-to-middle income countries.  

Frances also speaks with Research New Zealand’s managing partner, Emanuel Kalafatelis, about the results of a recent Research NZ’s recent housing survey.

Finally Zazi has her regular catch-up with ACT's Brooke van Velden, this week talking about New Zealand’s Alert Level 4 Lockdown, and the vaccination rollouts being paused for 48 hours as a result.