Science Digest with Dr Michelle Dickinson: The Covid-19 Vaccine

As the vaccine rollout opens up to all New Zealanders over the age of 12, a new NZ Herald podcast hopes to allay any concerns people may have about the Pfizer vaccine.

Science Digest is a new regular podcast that will bring together different experts each week to get behind the headlines and explain the science behind a story making the news.

The series is hosted by Dr. Michelle Dickinson – also known as Nanogirl – an award-winning educator, author and television host with a doctorate in biomedical and materials engineering.

Dickinson said she was excited to be working on the podcast in conjunction with the Herald.

“Understanding the complex world we live in, and especially science, has never been more important. Science Digest is about bringing together experts from around the world and breaking down the science featured in the news to help our audience make sense of and stay current. meet up with everything that’s going on. “

For the first episode, Dickinson was joined by University of Auckland vaccinologist Dr Helen Petousis-Harris and Auckland advisor Fa’anānā Efeso Collins to discuss the reluctance around the Covid-19 vaccine.

TThe podcast was taped just four days before New Zealand was blocked again after authorities learned the Delta variant was circulating in the community.

The return to level 4 has seen tens of thousands of New Zealanders flock to receive the Pfizer vaccine, with more than 50% of the eligible population now at least partially vaccinated.

However, there are many who have not yet reserved their first dose. Misinformation about Covid remains widespread around the world and was seen in this latest outbreak with protests against restrictions and a Covid-positive man fleeing from a quarantine facility in Auckland early Thursday morning.

“This is an area of ​​science where a lot of people ask questions – and rightly so – as they seek to understand the best choices for their health and that of their loved ones and communities,” Dickinson said.

Collins was a media regular during the outbreak, which hit the Pasifika community in south Auckland the hardest – with more than 300 cases linked to an Assembly of God service in Mangere on August 15.

Earlier this year Collins, who represents the parish of Manukau, was abused online for taking a strong stand in favor of the deployment, with some calling for his church to “ex-communicate” his position.

He told Dickinson that the abuse comes from being a public leader and that he will continue to advocate for the vaccine.

“There are a lot of church people who believe that the vaccine is like the ‘mark of the beast’, it’s wrong, we put poison in our body.

“I trust people like Helen who I’m sitting next to, you are the scientist, the vaccinologist, if you are satisfied that there is enough rigorous testing, I think that is good enough for the community. . “

Petousis-Harris said communication around the vaccine rollout “missed a few boats,” assuming the right information was communicated to everyone.

Collins said communication is key to his community – and people are more likely to listen to their religious and community leaders than doctors and scientists.

“I understand that people who often feel disenfranchised by society will get angry with people like me because they think we are now representing the institution that makes them do things they don’t want. maybe not do. “

Common concerns he has heard from the community include misconceptions about the vaccine affecting fertility, the new mRNA technology that is part of the vaccine and whether vaccine development has been “rushed”.

Petousis-Harris said the vaccine had been developed “very quickly”, but that is not the same as it is “rushed”.

“We had the tools to develop a vaccine very, very quickly, but we haven’t been able to do that in the past and we’ve had a lot of obstacles to meet those needs.”

She explained that money has been one of the big issues with funding vaccines in the past, and governments can’t find the billions of dollars needed for vaccines that might never work – but Covid has changed that .