Alex Casey introduces Bleed Week, a whole week of content dedicated to our periods.
The world of periods remains largely a secret one, shared in furtive glances and hasty DMs to colleagues and sleight-of-hand tampon exchanges. But people who have periods, or have had periods, know that it is a big, bloody, gnarly, funny, painful, frustrating and fascinating part of our lives.
For example, I have wiped someone else’s period blood off the walls of a work toilet with the sage, Dexter-style recognition of a moon cup removal gone awry. I have closely followed a menstruating friend down the beach like a member of her secret service, ensuring she got to the water without the dreaded “leakage freakage”. I have bled out through jeans, onto white cushions (sorry Cleo’s mum) and into cinema seats (sorry Event Cinemas Newmarket).
This week on The Spinoff, we are letting it all leak out into the open. Bleed Week, running from today until Sunday July 24, will examine our relationship with periods in Aotearoa from more angles than you can swing a tampon at. And, just like real periods, the content will be both heavy and light and will probably make you laugh and cry all at once. A huge thanks to The Spinoff Members for making all of the following content possible – if you want to support free and quality content please sign up today.
Image by Toby Morris
So what’s in the week? We’re going to look at how periods intersect with culture, including Alice Webb-Liddall on the role of ikura in the modern revitalisation of the maramataka, Sela Jane Hopgood on how different communities nickname their periods, and Lee Brown on the challenges faced by gender-diverse bleeders. There’s pop culture too – Tara Ward has assembled a watchlist of the best period content on TV, and I interviewed Tessa Duder about the groundbreaking inclusion of periods in the Alex series.
But wait, there’s more! We’re going to look at periods in contact sport, periods in various workplaces and periods in schools. We’re going to look at how Aotearoa became a world leader in the period industry, find out how to talk to our kids about periods and look at the role that period apps have in turning our intimate details into data. We’ve got advice about dealing with bloodstains, an essay about menopause, and we’ve attempted to ask health professionals every single question about your periods that you have sent through to us on various channels.
There’s even more than that, but we will be keeping some of it to ourselves for now. Because it wouldn’t be a real period-themed week without a few unexpected surprises, no?
A pair of Covid experts from either side of the Tasman compare and contrast the two nations’ approaches.
New Zealand, Australia and many countries are experiencing a further omicron wave driven by the latest BA.4/BA.5 subvariants. Our response to this threat is remarkably laissez-faire compared with past approaches, as society has pivoted to “living with the virus”.
But in both New Zealand and Australia, there’s a real risk current policy settings will be insufficient to prevent health services being overwhelmed – and more will need to be done in coming weeks.
We might squeak through under current policy settings if many more of us get vaccinated, wear masks, and isolate well when sick.
So, how do New Zealand and Australia compare on key policy settings?
Free masks? And what kind?
New Zealand:Free masks for all in Aotearoa – available from testing centres, marae and community centres, and provided directly to schools. Some 16 million surgical masks have been distributed in the last two months, as well as 3 million N95 masks (the latter to high risk and vulnerable people).
Australia: Free masks are occasionally distributed to certain groups (for example, some schools might have them). But access is extremely variable. (Also, one of us – Tony Blakely – has been in both Australia and New Zealand in last 10 days, and can report mask wearing is much higher in New Zealand.)
Rapid antigen tests – who gets them for free? (Image: Tina Tiller)
Free Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs)?
New Zealand: Access is similar to masks. Approximately 10.4 million free RATs have been distributed in last two months.
Australia: The federal government will not extend free rapid antigen tests for concession card holders past July 31. Victoria makes RATs available for free for some under certaincircumstances. But nationwide, access to free RATs is variable and limited. (One of us – Tony Blakely – received four free RATs on arrival in New Zealand, and zero on arrival in Australia.)
Accessing antivirals (and do you need to go to the GP)?
There are two oral antivirals available in both countries: Paxlovid and Lagevrio.
Both are effective at preventing disease progression (for example, stopping you ending up in hospital) if taken within five days of symptom onset.
New Zealand: Available to higher risk groups – access has been expanded from 2% to 10% of cases. Available by prescription from GP and directly from pharmacist. No cost if you’re eligible.
When it comes to vaccines, the difference is mainly in the approach to second booster doses. (Image: Archi Banal)
Vaccines?
Both countries are gradually widening access. Differences at one point in time may not be present in a few weeks. That said, as of mid-July 2022:
New Zealand: Primary course (that is, the first two vaccines) available for all people five years and older. First booster available to all 16+ year olds. Second booster (that is, the fourth dose) available to all 50+ year olds (but targeted more to 65+ year olds, unless Māori or Pasifika, in which case all 50+ year olds prioritised). Free. Vaccines mandatory for health and disability sector workers.
Australia:Primary course and first booster eligibility the same as in New Zealand. However, second booster encouraged for immunocompromised and all 50+ year olds, and available to 30-49 year olds if they wish. Free. Vaccines mandatory for some workers in some settings.
Income support for people who test positive?
New Zealand: Several forms of assistance, including Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme for people who need to self-isolate.
New Zealand:Mandatory for public transport, retail, visiting health care and aged care facilities, and public venues.
Australia:Mandatory in aged and health care settings, on public transport and some other settings (but compliance is low).
Actual mask wearing is higher in indoor environments in New Zealand, based on direct observation in both New Zealand and Victoria by one of us – Tony Blakely – during July.
Mandatory self-isolation?
New Zealand: Mandatory seven days self-isolation following positive test result. Household contacts also need to isolate for seven days, unless they have had Covid-19 in the last three months.
Australia: if you test positive for Covid-19 you must immediately isolate. However, the circumstances under which you can leave isolation may depend on which state you’re in. Household members in many places don’t have to isolate, as long as they have no symptoms.
Is either country getting it right?
Based on the above criteria, New Zealand is clearly “winning”. But getting policy settings right over the long haul is about more than just having the most favourable assessment on some selected (but important) criteria.
If the goal is to minimise hospitalisations, deaths and long-term illness, there is an argument for minimising infections by shifting from mitigation towards a suppression strategy.
Longitudinal studies are increasingly showing high rates of reinfection, which carry many of the same health consequences as the initial infection.
As the pandemic goes on (and on and on) we need to increasingly consider cost-effectiveness.
Giving out free RATs to all is a cost to governments, and carries sustainability consequences. Such interventions need to be effective and compared with alternative approaches.
These are complex decisions – and hard to quantify. We do not have a good enough crystal ball to know what is “right” now; we will, unfortunately, only know with the benefit of hindsight.