Author Talk | The Covid Response by Shaun Hendy | BWB Talks

About the Author:

Professor Shaun Hendy MNZM FRSNZ is a renowned physicist and science communicator. As the founding director of Te Pūnaha Matatini, he played a key role in New Zealand’s Covid-19 response. Hendy’s work has been recognised with numerous awards, including the Callaghan Medal for Science Communication and the Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication Prize. His previous books include Silencing Science (BWB, 2016) and #NoFly (BWB, 2019). He continues to contribute to the public understanding of science as an adjunct professor at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.

About the Book:

In March 2020, New Zealand had three confirmed cases of COVID-19, panic buying had begun, and no one knew what to expect next. Had the virus run the same course as it did in the US and UK, by March 2023 there would have been more than 17,000 fatalities. Instead, Aotearoa achieved one of the lowest health burdens in the world, while enduring fewer restrictions than almost any other country in the OECD. How did we get here? And at what cost?

In The Covid Response, Shaun Hendy offers an insider’s account of New Zealand’s science-driven strategy for confronting the global pandemic. As his team at Te Pūnaha Matatini springs into action, he takes us behind the scenes in real time. He unpacks the science informing rapid, high-stakes decisions, evaluating the costs of those decisions and asking what lessons they offer for the future.