Michael George Baker is an epidemiologist with the
University of Otago.
Baker is a member of the
New Zealand Food Safety Authority's Academy and of the
New Zealand Ministry of Health's Pandemic Influenza Technical Advisory Group (PITAG).
Early life
Baker has an identical twin brother, David, who is a general practitioner in Sydney, Australia. The twins are the eldest of four children. They attended secondary school in
Hamilton and medical school in Auckland. Michael Baker studied at the University of Otago, where he graduated
MB ChB and earned a Diploma in Public Health, and the
University of Auckland where he obtained a Diploma in Obstetrics.
Career
He originally wanted to specialise in emergency medicine or psychiatry, but got a job in
Wellington as a medical advisor for the Minister of Health. In that role he worked on the response to the
HIV/AIDS epidemic, and helped to set up a
needle exchange programme.
He was appointed to the faculty at the University of Otago in 1997, rising to the rank of professor in the Department of Public Health at the
University of Otago, Wellington
The University of Otago, Wellington is one of seven component schools that make up the University of Otago Division of Health Sciences. All University of Otago medical students who gain entry after a competitive Health Sciences First Year progra ...
in 2013.
He has campaigned to reduce
campylobacter
''Campylobacter'' (meaning "curved bacteria") is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria. ''Campylobacter'' typically appear comma- or s-shaped, and are motile. Some ''Campylobacter'' species can infect humans, sometimes causing campylobacteriosis, a d ...
contamination in chicken in New Zealand.
COVID-19 pandemic
In January 2020, Baker began to read reports about the
COVID-19 outbreak in China, and he was asked to join the Ministry of Health's COVID-19 Technical Advisory Group.
In February 2020 he was advocating with colleagues at the University of Otago to 'stamp out'
COVID-19 in New Zealand
The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand is part of COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported ...
and keep it out, rather than trying to '
flatten the curve'.
The Government eventually introduced a countrywide lockdown.
In April 2020, Baker stated that New Zealand had the "most decisive and strongest lockdown in the world at the moment" and that it is the only Western country where the goal is to eliminate COVID-19. Baker thinks we will look back on COVID-19 as "the most profound public health intervention in our history".
In October 2021, Baker advocated a regional approach to countering the
Delta variant outbreak in Auckland that began in August 2021. He argued that a regional approach would allow Auckland to pursue a suppression approach while the rest of the country could continue with an elimination strategy.
In November 2021, Baker and several fellow University of Otago academics including Dr Lucy Telfar Barnard, Dr Jennifer Summers, and Lesley Gray criticised the
Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) system's requirement that vaccinated travellers be tested as "inconsistent and arbitrary," asserting that they posed a lower risk of contracting COVID-19 than Aucklanders during the Delta variant.
In December 2021, Baker expressed concerns that the Government's new
COVID-19 Protection Framework ("traffic light system") in and abandonment of internal borders could lead to a rise in cases but added that the infection could be blunted by
vaccination efforts and the warmer summer weather. He credited vaccination, contact tracing and the previous Alert Level 3 lockdown with helping to combat the spread of the virus in 2021. In mid-December, Baker advocated that the Government delay its planned reopening of New Zealand's borders in January 2022 to counter the spread of the
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. He also stated that New Zealand was one of the few countries alongside Taiwan, China and some Australian states to have a "robust border quarantine system."
In early January 2022, Baker questioned the effectiveness of the "traffic light system" in dealing with Omicron community outbreaks and has advocated localised lockdowns. He has also expressed support for the Government's moves to lower the waiting period between second vaccines doses and booster shots from six to four months and encouraged the vaccination of children.
In February 2022, Baker expressed concerns that the
Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to:
Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries.
* Ministry of Health (Argentina)
* Ministry of Health (Armenia)
* Australia:
** Ministry of Health (New South Wales)
* Ministry of Health (The Bahamas)
* Ministry of ...
's daily COVID-19 reports underestimated infections within the community since many of the infected took several days to develop symptoms of COVID-19. He also credited the country's "traffic light settings" and contact tracing efforts with slowing the spread of COVID-19 in comparison to overseas.
In early September 2022, Baker advocated scrapping the "traffic light system" in favour of moving the country towards a "more straightforward system." Baker's remarks accompanies reports that the Government was considering abandoning the "traffic light system" when it reviewed New Zealand's COVID-19 settings later in the month.
In mid-October 2022, Baker advocated the reinstatement of a form of the
alert level system after the country reported its first case of the
Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 on 13 October.
In early November 2022, Baker advocated reinstating mask requirements for public transportation and flights to combat rising COVID-19 hospitalisation and death rates caused by the third wave of COVID-19 sweeping through New Zealand in 2022.
Honours and awards
In 2013, Baker was awarded the HRC
Liley Medal
Sir Albert William Liley (12 March 1929 – 15 June 1983) was a New Zealand medical practitioner, renowned for developing techniques to improve the health of foetuses ''in utero''.
Education and career
Liley graduated from Otago Medical School ...
for his contribution to the health and medical sciences. He was a joint recipient of the
Shorland Medal
The Shorland Medal is awarded annually by the New Zealand Association of Scientists in recognition of a "major and continued contribution to basic or applied research that has added significantly to scientific understanding or resulted in signifi ...
in 2019 for his work with the SHIVERS team of influenza researchers.
In the
2021 New Year Honours
The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...
, Baker was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to public health science.
Baker received the 2020
Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize, recognising his 2000+ interviews on COVID-19 since January 2020. He was awarded the 2021
Cranwell Medal for science communication by the
New Zealand Association of Scientists. In 2022, he was awarded the
Callaghan Medal
Sir Paul Terence Callaghan ( ; 19 August 1947 – 24 March 2012) was a New Zealand physicist who, as the founding director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at Victoria University of Wellington, held t ...
by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for "science-informed commentary on the Covid-19 pandemic and other major public health issues in Aotearoa New Zealand".
Personal life
Baker lives in
Brooklyn, Wellington, with his family.
Selected publications
*
*
*
*
*
*Baker, Michael G.; Wilson, Nick; Blakely, Tony (2020).
Elimination could be the optimal response strategy for covid-19 and other emerging pandemic diseases ''BMJ.'' 371:m4907 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m4907
References
External links
Sciencemediacentre.co.nzat University of Otago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Michael
University of Otago faculty
New Zealand epidemiologists
New Zealand public health doctors
New Zealand medical researchers
Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
University of Otago alumni
University of Auckland alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)