AstraZeneca has initiated a worldwide withdrawal of its COVID vaccine, Vaxzevria. This move comes after the company recently admitted in a UK court document that its vaccine can, “in very rare cases”, cause deadly blood clots and... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Economy

Health

Society

Featured Topics:

AstraZeneca cites oversupply from competitors for global recall of COVID vaccine after admitting side effect concerns

Despite this admission, AstraZeneca did not attribute its decision to the potentially fatal complications, but rather to the availability of other updated vaccines.

8 May 2024

Journalist Steve Braunias on the Liz Gunn trial

The trial of Liz Gunn and Jonathan Clark took place in the Manukau District Court. The pair faced charges of trespass and resisting arrest following an incident at Auckland International Airport, where they were filming unvaccinated travellers. Journalist Steve Braunias doles out criticism in equal measure on both, what he calls the “unnecessary torture of the seemingly messianic Liz Gunn” and of Gunn herself. “(T)o encounter Liz Gunn in the wild is, in my opinion, to think oh please shut up,” he writes.

9 May 2024

Edwards: “The public can’t have total faith in the electoral process”

Missing ballot boxes, multiple cases of double voting, and “ineffective” vote checking processes by the Electoral Commission are just a few highlights from a recent audit report about the integrity of 2023’s electoral process. According to political scientist Dr Bryce Edwards, “No one could read the Auditor-General’s report and not have their confidence dented in New Zealand elections.”

9 May 2024

A COVID Inquiry conflict of interest? Chair Tony Blakely’s direct role during the pandemic raises concerns that the government is marking its own homework

Epidemiologist Tony Blakely, the chair of New Zealand's COVID Royal Commission of Inquiry, claims his advice to key policymakers during the pandemic was informal. Yet, recent disclosures suggest otherwise. The NZ Herald’s Kate McNamara notes that “Blakely’s involvement in the pandemic response as it unfolded is of consequence; he now chairs the country’s main exercise in sober second thought. Its terms of reference [are] narrow and arguably blinkered in scope…”

7 May 2024

“You couldn’t GIVE it away”: Study shows bleak response to free newspaper subscriptions

A study published in the American Journal of Political Science revealed disappointing results regarding efforts to increase state and local news consumption in the US state of Pennsylvania. Despite offering over 2,000 individuals free online subscriptions to local newspapers, only 44 people subscribed. According to the study’s authors: “The engaged citizens who formerly read [local newspapers] now prefer national, partisan content.”

7 May 2024

Fast-track Law could be moving too fast for New Zealand’s own good

Emeritus Professor of Law, Jane Kelsey, warns that the proposed Fast-track Approvals Bill in New Zealand could be moving too fast. She warns that future governments may be exposed to costly trade disputes.

8 May 2024

The influence of Michael Johnston on government’s education policy

The government's education policy is led by Erica Stanford and Michael Johnston. The latter is a cognitive psychologist and a senior fellow with the New Zealand Initiative (NZI), who leads the think tank’s education workstream and advocates for a structured approach to literacy. However, Johnston's association with NZI and his advocacy for the systematic method to reading as opposed to the previous government’s “balanced approach” is raising concerns for some.