Vaccine

Australia correspondent Annika Smethurst looks at why Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's free - but declared - upgrades on Qantas flights when he was Transport Minister is attracting so much scrutiny. 

The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week. Audio

It's the unwelcome guest that no one wants to talk about – Covid-19 may be below the radar now, but it hasn't gone away and is likely to claim 1,000 Kiwi lives this year.  Audio

Science writer Michael Spector isn't alone in thinking the Covid-19 pandemic has ushered in dramatic and lasting change across the world - he just thinks most of us have overlooked what could be the… Audio

New Zealanders have battled Covid-19 for more than two years, but if you think it's the first time disease has knocked us around, well, this one's for you. Epidemics have long been part of our story. 

As Omicron case numbers and reinfections rise, could the country benefit from making a second booster shot more widely available? The answer from one immunologist is a firm, 'no'. At the moment people… Audio

Kiwi Gary McLean is a professor in molecular immunology at London Metropolitan University and a researcher with Imperial College. Professor McLean is back with us for an update on all the latest… Audio

Will Covid-19 become an endemic, more agreeably mild virus that we just have to be wary of every winter, like the flu, or - as exemplified by the new XE variant - is this the coronavirus warming up… Audio

New Zealanders remain polarised over the lifting of the mandates, with the latest survey from Research New Zealand showing that over one quarter of all respondents (27%) are "unhappy" with the lifting… Audio

Stalling booster rates are worrying health chiefs, who say people shouldn't consider themselves fully vaccinated unless they've had their third dose.

The number of COVID-19 infections has edged up… Audio

Our US correspondent Karen Kasler, who is the Ohio Statehouse Bureau chief, joins the show for the last time this year, talking about the state of America and the big stories that are in play there at… Audio

Concern is rising among health experts as the sector takes a staffing hit to the tune of 1,300 workers.

The vaccine mandate for health workers kicked in at midnight on Monday and DHBs are figuring… Audio

"Send body bags" - that's the message from iwi in the north if the government pushes ahead with plans to open the Auckland border. 

The collective wants the gateway to te tai tokerau to stay locked… Video, Audio

Joining us on the panel this morning are Dr Alexander Gillespie and Lavina Good. Among other topics, they'll be discussing the anti-lockdown protest on Auckland's motorway, the All Blacks and Black… Audio

The government expects home isolation to be an option for travellers entering the country next year. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced an MIQ overhaul in three stages.

From… Audio

To say Nelsonian Rosie Manins' introduction to life in Atlanta has been something of a baptism of fire would be an understatement. A former ODT journalist who is married to a Grammy Award-nominated… Audio

Named one of the world's top thinkers by both Prospect and Foreign Policy magazines, American social psychologist Professor Jonathan Haidt will feature as the keynote speaker at next month's APEC CEO… Audio

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield joins the show as the country's first ever 'vaxathon' takes place  with the target of getting a further 100,000 eligible people vaccinated with either… Audio

West Aucklander Dawn O'Connor lives in Brussels, Belgium, where she has been based since 2018. She joins Jim for Calling Home. Audio