Julie Blommaert

One of my work friends has made me a sticker chart for when I make phone calls

*cries in swedish*

Excellent TLDR of part 2 of NZ's Covid-19 Inquiry by @marcdaalder.bsky.social
1. Vaccine safety & approvals process successful
2. Some mandates lasted too long or went too far
3. The need for a changed testing strategy could have been foreseen
4. Lockdown decisions were ‘reasonable & evidence-based’

Reading through the 4 enumerated items in particular, it is super clear that robust public research capability is needed to address them all. At the same time, this government is further destroying that very capability and the pathways for training up the next generations.
#NZPOL

Lockdown, vaccine decisions 'considered and appropriate' – Royal Commission The Covid-19 Royal Commission has broadly backed the decisions taken during the pandemic, while identifying areas for improvement.

The Covid-19 Royal Commission's second report has been published, I've read (almost) all of it and here are the key takeaways:
newsroom.co.nz/2026/03/10/l...

Submitters’ primary concerns about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines can be categorised as follows. ° mRNA vaccines (which use messenger RNA to instruct the body’s cells to produce a viral protein that evokes an immune response in the person receiving them) alter DNA or modify genes, causing cancer and other harmful conditions. ° The manufacturing process for Comirnaty was changed which affected its safety. ° The Comirnaty vaccine was still ‘experimental’ at the time of approval and had not been properly tested. ° The Comirnaty vaccine produced harmful side effects which authorities have not acted on appropriately. ° The long-term effects of the Comirnaty vaccine remain uncertain. 1383 We have carefully considered these issues, drawing on advice and evidence from a range of experts and sources, including studies provided to us by submitters, research published in leading scientific journals and conclusions from international regulatory authorities and the COVID-19 Vaccine Independent Safety Monitoring Board. This review makes clear that the concerns raised are not grounded in reliable evidence or aligned with scientific consensus. While we acknowledge the sincerity of those who brought these concerns to us, ultimately our conclusions reflect the most robust and widely accepted scientific evidence available.

Prepare for meltdowns from any VFF or similar people in your life. I think they genuinely convinced themselves the phase 2 report was going to prove them right.
Reader, it did not.

National's Shane Reti to retire from politics He is the fourth National MP to confirm he will not stand at the election.

Political highlights include being National interim leader for 5 days, night riding in St Johns ambulances without consent, opposing ban on conversion therapy... #nzpol

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

It's also funny that National are Big Mad about Labour allegedly ignoring expert advice, when that is pretty much a core part of National's brand. #nzpol

“What do you mean you’re leaving the house without me”

Also this is the kind of thing I might expect some really onto it journalists to notice and grill some ministers about

Dreams are for free though, right?

It’s funny that all the areas of NZs Covid response that National are Big Mad about are almost all things covered by social scientists

You know, the type of science National decided wasn’t useful and fundable

How weird because giving the private sector “more scope” in the UK did not work out well - see below headline.
Studies consistently show that private sector involvement in public health leads to poorer health outcomes - RNZ noted this last year:
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

A Kākāpō chick being weighed in a bag. Credit: Andrew Digby

A Kākāpō chick being held during a health check. Credit: Andrew Digby

A health check for #kakapo chick Tiwhiri-A3 two nights ago. This is a genetically valuable (rank = gold) chick, so it gets more frequent health checks. It’s doing well. #kakapo2026 #conservation #parrots

a close up of a cat with the words curiosity intensifies written below it ALT: a close up of a cat with the words curiosity intensifies written below it

3 days is also how long it takes for me to look up the type of surgery I just had on YouTube

Yeah we’re not doing great here either, fingers crossed for a better result after our election later this year

I’ll do my best to avoid needing one tbh

a man and a woman sitting at a table with the words get your hand off of that on the bottom ALT: a man and a woman sitting at a table with the words get your hand off of that on the bottom

Apparently 3 days is how long it takes before I need an adult to tell me to leave my surgery dressings alone

I’m so glad our current govt is prioritising a new LNG import terminal that will only add charges to our electricity bills rather than considering something woke and sensible like investing in renewables and energy sovereignty

Covid-19 vaccines still protect us: How do we get the best out of them? International evidence shows that even during the Omicron era, Covid-19 vaccines continue to provide protection against infection, hospitalisation, death, and Long Covid, as well as improving outcomes...

The Public Health Communication Centre Aotearoa recommended in *2024* to extend eligibility for additional doses to younger age groups, especially those at occupational risk.

Could NZ media please follow up on why public health expert recommendations are not being followed, as a new wave ramps up 🫠

Full-time science photography job at the BioEconomy Science Institute - Maiangi Taiao, in Auckland, NZ. a great gig: careers.sciencenewzealand.org/jobdetails?a... #science #photography

Summary comment of what seems to have happened

She also called Northern Ireland part of the UK and used the wrong emoji flags for Ireland on her post. So there’s quite a few reasons she may not have been popular

So odd

Like what is this

It tells me no locations 🙃 anyone would think that our govt had laid off much of the tech and IT staff responsible for this kind of thing

Feijoas, also called pineapple guava

Not quite ready here but so excited

I don’t recall planting any donut seeds in the backyard and yet

I hate when the free patches on the beach are less than 10m2 and I actually have to place my towel NEAR someone else’s

This is, of course, set against a backdrop of two years of utter economic mismanagement. We already have high prices, wage increases below inflation, and high unemployment - for exactly no structural reason at all. All these things will get much worse with expensive oil