COVID-19 interviews, presentations and expert commentary

Co-Search research collaboration members have all been active in media commentary, interviews and presentations about COVID-19. While we are not able to track the thousands of media items, listed below are some of the recorded commentary.

Contact Co-Search:
Email virginia.signal@otago.ac.nz
Email fiona.taylor@otago.ac.nz

COVID-19 regular radio interviews

Professor Michael Baker regularly joined Sunday Morning on Radio New Zealand to answer COVID-19 questions:

• 30 August 2020
• 23 August 2020
• 16 August 2020
• 9 August 2020

May 2020

• 31 May 2020
• 24 May 2020
• 17 May 2020
• 10 May 2020
• 3 May 2020

March and April 2020

• 26 April 2020
• 19 April 2020
• 12 April 2020
• 5 April 2020
• 29 March 2020
• 22 March 2020
• 15 March 2020
• 1 March 2020

Professor Baker also regularly followed up on the Radio New Zealand Lately programme:

• 14 September 2020
• 12 August 2020
• 11 August 2020
• 27 May 2020
• 6 May 2020
• 22 April 2020
• 14 April 2020
• 6 April 2020
• 30 March 2020

COVID-19 public talks and webinars

• Baker, M. (2022, May). Previous pandemic and post viral syndromes. Verbal presentation at the symposium Long COVID: Journeying Together Through the Fog
• Preliminary Descriptive Comparisons of Health and Economic Impacts of New Zealand's Elimination Strategy Towards the COVID-19 Pandemic
  Professor Nick Wilson, Dr Leah Grout, Dr Jennifer Summers (presenter), Dr Nhung Nghiem, Professor Michael Baker, International Health Economics Conference presentation (Virtual Conference), 12 to 15 July 2021
• NZ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the coming vaccination roll-out and the future
  Presentation to Kilbirnie U3A, 23 February 2021
• Improving the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic
  Professor Nick Wilson, Leah Grout, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Professor Michael Baker
  Public Health Summer School 1 February 2021
• The COVID-19 elimination strategy: Implications and opportunities for New Zealand
  Verbal presentation at the 6th One Health Aotearoa (OHA) Symposium, now online.
  Professor Michael Baker, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Professor Nick Wilson 8 December 2020
• Epidemiology of COVID-19 in NZ Distinguish
  Professor Nigel French, ANZCVS NZ Network seminar 19 November 2020
• Elimination COVID-19: The NZ experience and wider implications
  Professor Michael Baker
• The elimination strategy for responding to pandemics: the New Zealand experience
  Professor Michael Baker, Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Science, Cambridge University, Future pandemics series. 14 September
• Covid-19 unmasked: experts discuss coronavirus
  Professor Michael Baker, Professor David Murdoch, Professor Miguel Quinones-Mateu, Dr Jemma Geoghegan, Professor Vernon Ward. RNZ / NZ International Science Festival, 6 August 2020.
• The COVID-19 Elimination strategy: Why it was the best choice for New Zealand
  Presentation to the University of the Third Age (U3A) Wellington City at the Embassy Theatre on 21 July 2020
• COVID-19 elimination in New Zealand: Could it work in the UK?
  Professor Michael Baker, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine 'Let's talk Covid-19 series', 9 July 2020
• Ethical pandemic control
  Dr Jim Thomas, 7 April 2020
• The emerging coronavirus epidemic – protecting our communities and ourselves
  Professor Michael Baker, Professor Raina MacIntyre, Professor Nick Wilson, 12 February 2020
• Why do we still need to know about the 1918 influenza pandemic?
  Professor Geoffrey Rice, 7 February 2017

COVID-19 international and substantial commentary

Co-Search researchers expert commentary on COVID-19 gained national and international attention.

July 2021

• NZers on low incomes found lockdown challenging – study Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Radio New Zealand, 9 July 2021
• Covid-19: Only 386 saliva tests carried out on quarantine staff since January Lesley Gray, Stuff.co.nz, 2 July 2021

June 2021

• Covid-19: About one in 20 at risk are fully vaccinated, latest figures show Lesley Gray, Stuff.co.nz, 29 June 2021
• Covid-19 NZ: Wellington's vaccines redistributed across region as one centre runs out of doses Lesley Gray,Stuff.co.nz, 29 June 2021 25 June 2021
• Covid-19 case comes to Wellington – expert reaction Lesley Gray, Science Media Centre, 23 June 2021
• 'Extraordinary' lack of seasonal flu in New Zealand, ESR virologist says Stuff.co.nz, 16 June 2021

October 2020

• What New Zealand can learn from Taiwan about pandemic preparedness Dr Jennifer Summers, stuff.co.nz, 22 October 2020

September 2020

• Southern hemisphere has record low flu cases amid Covid lockdowns Professor Michael Baker, The Guardian, 17 September 2020

August 2020

• Patrick Gower: On Lockdown Professor Michael Baker, Professor Miguel Quinones-Mateu, Dr Jemma Geoghegan, Associate Professor James Ussher. TV Three, 31 August 2020
• Return of covid-19 to New Zealand shows that no one can relax Professor Michael Baker, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, New Scientist, 18 August 2020
• We felt we had beaten it': New Zealand's race to eliminate the coronavirus again Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Nature, 14 August 2020
• New Zealand Beat the Virus Once. Can It Do It Again? Professor Michael Baker, New York Times, 13 August 2020
• New Zealand suspects 'some failure at the border' after COVID-19 returns Professor Nick Wilson, Science Magazine, 12 August 2020

July 2020

• China's new Covid-19 cluster in Dalian linked to cases in 9 other cities Professor Michael Baker, South China Morning Post, 28 July 2020
• Could Australia eliminate COVID-19 like NZ and how would it work? Professor Michael Baker, The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, July 22, 2020

June 2020

• Why New Zealand decided to go for full elimination of the coronavirus Professor Michael Baker, New Scientist, 23 June 2020
• The UK has done everything that NZ had done, but in reverse Professor Michael Baker, BBC 2 with Phil Vine, 15 June, 2020
• What can the UK learn from New Zealand's successes with COVID-19 Professor Michael Baker, BBC Today, 10 June 2020
• A novel enemy: the long road to victory against coronavirus Professor Michael Baker, Stuff, 10 June 2020
• Winter is coming: Health experts are worried about an uptick of coronavirus cases in the Southern Hemisphere Professor Michael Baker, CNBC, 1 June 2020

May 2020

• Stay home, stay safe, be kind: What New Zealand can teach the world about eliminating COVID-19 Professor Michael Baker, Democracy Now, 26 May 2020
• Doc to doc: Coronavirus conversation Dr Ayesha Verrall, NBC, 20 May 2020
• How New Zealand put coronavirus on the brink of elimination Professor Michael Baker, Wired (UK), 11 May 2020
• New Zealand eliminates COVID-19 Professor Michael Baker, The Lancet, 9 May 2020
• COVID-19 elimination 'all about good data' Professor Nick Wilson, RNZ 7 May 2020
• How New Zealand got its Coronavirus cases down to zero in seven weeks Professor Michael Baker, Vice News (USA), 5 May 2020
• With virus under control, Australia and New Zealand may form a travel 'bubble' Professor Michael Baker, The Washington Post, 4 May 2020

March and April 2020

• Long read: NZ wasn't ready for a pandemic Professor Nick Wilson, Prof Michael Baker, Newsroom, 29 April 2020
• New Zealand says it has eliminated Coronavirus Professor Michael Baker, CNN, 28 April 2020
• Learning from New Zealand's “Unite Against COVID-19” response Interview with former NZ PM Helen Clark and Professor Michael Baker, Medyascope (Turkey), 27 April 2020
• Flatttery and foot dragging: China's influence over the WHO under scrutiny Professor Michael Baker, The Globe and Mail (Toronto) 25 April 2020
• The story behind the doctor pushing for better Covid-19 contact tracing Dr Ayesha Verrall, Stuff 25 April 2020
• Vanquish the Virus? Australia and New Zealand Aim to Show the Way Professor Michael Baker, The New York Times, 24 April 2020
• Did other countries do better at stopping coronavirus? | Good Morning Britain Professor Michael Baker, 22 April 2020
• Coronavirus: How New Zealand relied on science and empathy Professor Michael Baker 21, BBC News, April 2020
• It wasn't planned but Australia is on the verge of an exciting possibility Professor Michael Baker, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 April 2020
• This country says it's on course to wipe out Covid-19 Professor Michael Baker, Bloomberg, 17 April 2020
• Otago researchers making major contribution to COVID‑19 response Associate Professor Jo-ann Stanton, Professor Michael Baker, Dr Lesley Gray, Media Release, 17 April 2020
• New Zealand isn't just flattening the curve. It's squashing it Professor Michael Baker, The Washington Post, 7 April 2020
• Man for this moment Professor Michael Baker, Stuff, 4 April 2020
• New Zealand must urgently build contact tracing for COVID‑19 to make nationwide lockdown worthwhile, infectious diseases expert says Dr Ayesha Verrall, Media Release, 24 March 2020

Related pages

• Blogs and opinion pieces
• Publications and reports