A preprint observational study found that the Pfizer vaccine (known as the BNT162b2 vaccine) reduced the risk of COVID-related emergencies and hospitalisations in adolescents. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

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Study: Heart inflammation observed only in vaccinated

A preprint observational study found that the Pfizer vaccine (known as the BNT162b2 vaccine) reduced the risk of COVID-related emergencies and hospitalisations in adolescents.

However, all observed incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis (types of heart inflammation) occurred only in vaccinated individuals. Researchers called these events rare and no deaths were reported.

21 August 2024

Ramped up roadside drug testing will have challenges

The government’s goal of conducting 50,000 roadside drug tests annually is part of a broader $1.3b Road Policing Investment Programme. However, unlike alcohol breath tests, which clearly indicate impairment, current drug tests cannot definitively determine if a driver is impaired.

21 August 2024

What you need to know about open banking in New Zealand

Two key announcements from the Commerce Commission expected this week are anticipated to give clearance for Payments NZ to set standards for open banking. Alongside new legislation currently making its way through Parliament, these decisions are set to push open banking into the mainstream.

21 August 2024

Williams says Seymour’s treaty principles bill is ‘courageous’, but who will support him?

“That the Waitangi Tribunal was highly critical of the Act party’s proposed, although currently undrafted, Treaty Principles Bill, was as predictable as the sun rising in the east,” writes journalist Peter Williams. He notes that the Tribunal’s timing appears calculated to challenge not just David Seymour and his party, but the entire governing Coalition.

21 August 2024

Inquiry reveals potential bank collusion affecting farmers’ access to capital

New Zealand’s banking sector is suspected of hindering competition and stifling agricultural lending. Stuart Smith, the National MP chairing a parliamentary inquiry, argued that the influence of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance—a UN-backed initiative aimed at achieving net-zero emissions by 2050—could unfairly restrict farmers’ access to capital.

21 August 2024

Kim Dotcom extradition signed after nearly 13 years of legal battles

In September 2011 New Zealand police initiated an investigation into Kim Dotcom at the request of the FBI. Nearly 13 years later Dotcom’s extradition to the US has been signed off by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith.

21 August 2024

McCoskrie: New appointees to the HRC aren’t too popular

Much to the delight of Family First’s Bob McCoskrie, the Human Rights Commission (HRC) is facing criticism after appointing Dr Stephen Rainbow as the Chief Human Rights Commissioner and Dr Melissa Derby as the new Race Relations Commissioner.