Ask me anything on Covid

Living in alert level 4 lockdown comes with a unique set of rules, some of which are not always clear. In our new daily feature,

Amy Wiggins answers questions from readers about anything Covid-related

Is the spike protein causing issues in donated blood? Renee M

No, this is not an issue.

NZ Blood Service chief medical officer Sarah Morley said receiving a blood transfusion did not put patients at risk of Covid-19 because respiratory viruses were not transmitted by transfusion.

Despite this, the Blood Service was taking a precautionary approach, which meant all donors must be in good health when donating, must not have been a close contact of someone with Covid-19 in the past 28 days and, if they have had Covid-19, must wait 28 days after they are free from all symptoms before giving blood.

Morley said people could continue to give blood in all lockdown levels because the Blood Service was an essential service.

To keep donors and staff safe at level 4 you will be asked screening questions at the door before your appointment, all equipment and surfaces are being regularly sanitised and cleaned, social distancing and mask wearing is required and only pre-packaged food will be available for donors.

What will happen with the mass vaccination event at the Manukau Vodafone Events Centre scheduled for [this] Friday, Saturday and Sunday? I am one of the 15,000 people booked for their second vaccination on these three days. I assume the event will be cancelled due to the large group size, but no notification has been sent.

Stephanie

The mass vaccination will go ahead but become a drivethrough event.

It will be held at the airport Park and Ride on Verissimo Drive in Mangere, rather than the Vodafone Event Centre. “The drive-through model has been a great way to vaccinate lots of people safely at alert level 4, so everyone who attended the first event will now be able to get their second dose at the airport drivethrough centre,” Northern Region Health Coordination Centre vaccination programme lead Matt Hannant said. Everyone booked to get their second dose at the event should have been alerted to the change by text. Appointment times would be the same for anyone booked before 4pm so they should aim to arrive at the drive-through at the same time. If you were booked for after 4pm, you can get your vaccine any time between 8.30am and 4pm.

Hannant said they were aware the drive-through model wouldn’t work for everyone so people who wanted another option could call 0800 28 29 26 to talk to someone about rescheduling for another site. The airport Park and Ride drive-through centre has been vaccinating more than 4000 people a day.

Since the arrival of Covid-19 there has been a graphic used to denote a Covid viral cell, a round ball with specific shaped spikes emanating from the ball. Could you please find the origin of the graphic and what methods were used to determine what the cell looks like?

Alastair Irving

The graphic is based on electron microscope images of the virus, seen by scientists. The illustration was created to make the virus’ features more distinct and help researchers and the public better understand it.

The Centre for Disease Control commissioned medical illustrators Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins to create the image in January 2020. With input from medical experts on what Covid-19 looked like up close they used the Protein Data Bank – a repository of more than 160,000 molecular structures – to create the image.

The software uses previous virus structures and new data submitted to create a 3D model of the cell.

I have looked on the government Covid-19 site and can see no mention of the level 4 rule where you should keep pets on a leash. Can you clarify, particularly because you have said there is no evidence pets play a role in spreading the virus? John S

The Ministry for Primary Industries explains you can continue to walk your dog in all alert levels but it sets out some guidelines to follow. One is to keep your dog on a leash when walking in level 4. “Keeping them on a leash minimises the chance of needing to break your ‘bubble’ to retrieve your pet, as well as the risk of accidents. Don’t do anything that may require help if you or your dog end up getting into trouble,” the MPI website explains.

The other dog-walking recommendations for level 4 include: act like you have Covid-19; maintain distance from other people, wear a mask, and don’t invite anyone not already in your bubble to join you; and, if possible, walk, don’t drive, to a walking area. There is no evidence pets or the livestock can spread Covid-19 but as a precautionary measure MPI says that if someone in the household has the virus any dogs in the household should not be exercised off the property.