 This study found that more than half of adults in New Zealand experience delays in accessing healthcare during the first nationwide coronavirus lockdown. The main factors influencing these delays included changes in public service messaging and excessive focus on COVID-19 and other urgent issues and poor service integration. At the primary care level, factors such as communication and outreach, use of technology, gatekeeping, staff matter, and the safety of the clinical practice environment also played a role. To improve access to healthcare during future pandemics, it is important to have clear and consistent national messages, integrate services better, provide rapid proactive outreach to patients, foster a calm but safe clinical practice environment, and provide more support for patients to self-manage and self-triage appropriately. This article was authored by Fiona Imlak, Eileen McKimley, Jonathan Kennedy, and others.