As Kiwis eagerly await summer and the return of music festivals and sun-soaked getaways, health experts are warning the Covid-19 pandemic isn't over.
University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said with "well over 20 million deaths", 2022 is "probably the third year where it will be the world's single biggest killer".
It comes as multiple variants continue to circulate within the community.
"This whole narrative that the pandemic is over and we don't have to worry anymore is the concern here," University of Auckland immunologist Anna Brooks said.
Brooks is worried the complacency will lead to further infections and reinfections.
"People who haven’t been infected yet are going to be at huge risk," she said.
In the last week, 20,522 cases were reported in the country – almost 2500 of whom have been infected before.
The weekly rolling average is also creeping up, with almost 3000 more cases in the last week.
As concerns grow, scientists are looking for a way out of the pandemic.
Baker is among more than 300 researchers who have banded together to look at the threat of Covid-19 to public health.
"The pandemic finishes when this virus becomes a more predictable threat so it might still have waves of infection, but they may be smaller, we can manage them well," he explained.
The group has offered a broad range of recommendations, including improving communication to battle misinformation and regain the public's trust; building stronger health systems to cope with the virus; a continued emphasis on vaccinations; and expanding the number of Covid-19 treatment options.
Baker said the report has detailed "a number of measures", including the "vaccines plus approach".
"That basically says high vaccine coverage is still extremely important but it's not enough, because this virus will escape protection of vaccines," he said.
Brooks is concerned about the lesser-known link between Covid-19 and blood clots, which increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks.
"All the blood vessels in the body have the potential to be damaged when we get infected," she said.
"We might not even feel this - we often call this silent damage - and because of that, it's upsetting our immune system.
"It's also upsetting our blood clotting pathways, and all of those things, we don't know how long it takes to resolve."
Baker said another issue highlighted in the report is that "even if you survive infection, there iss this huge burden of long Covid".
In a statement, Covid-19 Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall told 1News the Government is keeping the country's Covid measures "under continuous review and are well prepared if we need to adapt our response to a change in the risk posed from the pandemic".
Verrall added that advice is "currently being considered on the expansion of Covid-19 boosters".
"We remain in a strong position due to the hard work New Zealanders put in to get their vaccines and boosters, continuing to wear masks in health care settings and staying home when unwell," she said.
"We're keeping a close eye on new variants and looking at other countries' experience. From what we have seen, new variants are not having a vastly different impact in other countries."
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