Researchers studying the COVID-19 pandemic are invited to apply for grants from a new fund.
“Tens of thousands of lives have been saved in New Zealand because of the way this country has responded to COVID-19,” said Andrew Little.
“We have the lowest death rate in the OECD, far lower than other countries including the UK, US and even Australia. We need to build on what we have learned over the past two years to help us plan for future pandemics and improve our services.
“We are looking at a whole range of things, such as how different sectors of society, including Maori, Pacific and disabled communities, are affected by COVID, and what we have learned about working with them. This will help us understand what remains to be done and prepare for future pandemics.
“We are also looking at how the methods used to vaccinate four million people against COVID-19 can be used in other vaccination programs.
“It was the biggest vaccination program we’ve ever seen in this country, and we need to look at it carefully and see how we can apply what we’ve learned in other vaccination programs.”
A call for research proposals opens April 19 and closes June 10. The first details are on GETS, the government’s electronic tendering services website.
The $9 million fund comes from the government’s $74.1 billion COVID-19 response fund.
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