Category Archives: Health

‘A slap in the face’: uproar in Virginia as governor relaxes school mask rules

Posted on by

Most families want masks in schools – so why did Virginia’s new governor make them optional?

Emily Paterson was finally feeling able to relax. Her two sons were now fully vaccinated, and with mask policies in place at their school in northern Virginia she felt safe sending them every day, even as the Omicron variant surged.

Then Virginia’s new governor, Glenn Youngkin, took office on 15 January of this year – and, with his second executive action, he made masks in schools optional.

Continue reading...

Australia politics live news updates: PM apologises to Brittany Higgins as parliament acknowledges history of bullying, harassment, sexual assault

Posted on by

Apology for staff and politicians who have experienced sexual harassment, assault and bullying at Parliament House; Daniel Andrews welcomes border reopening, announces free RATs for kids in childcare; anti-vaccine mandate protests continue; Victoria records 9,785 Covid cases and 20 deaths, NSW records 9,690 cases and 18 deaths; Queensland records 5,178 cases and 12 deaths. Follow the latest updates live

The defence minister Peter Dutton has told the Today show he is reserving his right to take legal action against former NSW premier Bob Carr, who doubled down on his claims that Dutton was the “mystery minister” who called prime minister Scott Morrison a “psycho”. Dutton said:

It was not me. I mean, every family’s got this crazy uncle that wakes up from the rocking chair and sort of in a startled way shouts out something and I just don’t know what is going on with Bob Carr. Is he the full quid or not? He’s a bizarre guy. He hasn’t produced any evidence. He’s now saying if it’s not me, then the person needs to come forward to prove my innocence. I just find it bizarre. But anyway, I just find it bizarre. But anyway, I think he has discredited himself.

He hasn’t produced any evidence and you can’t just make a claim and then back away from it. But that’s what he’s done. I think it’s embarrassing for him and I think most journalists frankly have treated him as a bit of a joke and this sort of relevance deprivation syndrome cuts in for a lot of former politicians as we’ve discussed on the show before.

Continue reading...

Do you need a booster shot or do you have immunity after you’ve had Covid-19? – video explainer

Posted on by

Guardian Australia's medical editor Melissa Davey looks at the difference between the immunity to Covid-19 that comes from vaccinations and boosters and that which comes naturally after recovering from infection.  Overall, viewing Omicron infection as a ‘natural booster’ which makes a third vaccine dose unnecessary is unwise

► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube

Continue reading...

Harm to AstraZeneca jab’s reputation ‘probably killed thousands’

Posted on by

Scientist who worked on jab criticises ‘bad behaviour’ by scientists and politicians who damaged reputation of Covid vaccine

Scientists and politicians “probably killed hundreds of thousands of people” by damaging the reputation of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to an Oxford scientist who worked on the jab.

Prof John Bell said: “They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world.”

Continue reading...

A new start after 60: ‘I’m one of the world’s worst athletes – but I learned to skate in my 70s’

Posted on by

Richard Epstein, a 78-year-old scientist with stage four prostate cancer, says that skating helps him to embrace uncertainty

The first time Richard Epstein went to his local ice-skating rink in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he was handed a free pair of skates. They had been left behind by a discontented customer. “I do things out of my comfort zone, and good things happen,” he observes.

This wisdom was borne out last December, when Epstein, now 78, skated in his first exhibition. His wife filmed his routine, which he performed with his coach, Teri Moellenberg, then his eldest daughter posted it on Twitter, along with a note that Epstein has stage four prostate cancer. Nearly 3 million people viewed it. Epstein is somewhat baffled by the response, describing himself as “just an old guy going around in circles”.

Continue reading...

Playing with dolls helps children talk about how others feel, says study

Posted on by

Research suggests playing imaginary games can aid development of social skills and empathy

Playing with dolls encourages children to talk more about others’ thoughts and emotions, a study has found.

The research suggests that playing imaginary games with dolls could help children develop social skills, theory of mind and empathy. The neuroscientist who led the work said that the educational value of playing with Lego and construction toys was widely accepted, but the benefits of playing with dolls sometimes appeared to have been overlooked.

Continue reading...

Misinformation and distrust: behind Bolivia’s low Covid vaccination rates

Posted on by

About half the country’s population is yet to receive a single dose of vaccine, despite availability

In a vaccination centre in El Alto, Bolivia, the staff bagged up in protective gear far outnumbered the few people sitting in plastic chairs waiting for their injection. A young doctor reeled off a list of all the vaccines available: Sinopharm, Sputnik, Pfizer, Moderna. What’s lacking is demand. They see 100 people on a good day.

South America, once the region most afflicted by the pandemic, is now the most vaccinated in the world. But this turnaround doesn’t extend to Bolivia, where roughly half the population is yet to receive a single dose – even though the state has had all the vaccines it needs since October.

Continue reading...

Booster campaign stalls as ‘partygate’ undermines trust in official advice

Posted on by

Hundreds still dying from Covid each day in the UK as fear of the virus wanes

The Covid booster campaign has stalled, and declining trust in the prime minister is part of the problem, say scientists.

Only 26,875 people in England had a third dose or booster on 1 February, the latest complete figures available, and 6 million people are at least six weeks overdue for their shot.

Continue reading...

Covid news: UK reports 259 deaths; Turkish president tests positive – as it happened

Posted on by

Total of 60,578 cases reported which includes reinfections in England and Northern Ireland; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and wife have mild symptoms

Hong Kong reported 351 cases of coronavirus on Saturday, a record daily high since the outbreak of the pandemic, reports Reuters.

This adds further pressure on the government’s “dynamic zero-Covid” strategy as other major cities opt to live with the virus.

Continue reading...

‘The case for masks became hugely stronger’: scientists admit their Covid mistakes

Posted on by

Being proved wrong lies at the heart of scientific progress. Here, experts reveal what they got wrong during the pandemic

Einstein once observed that “a scientist is a mimosa when he himself has made a mistake, and a roaring lion when he discovers a mistake of others”. Aside from the “he”, the statement accurately sums up the tone of some of the current scientific discourse on Covid-19.

Views on lockdowns, vaccinating children and mask mandates have become increasingly polarised, and social media is unforgiving towards those who voice a change of heart. Yet being proved wrong lies at the heart of scientific progress. In science, an unwillingness to revise your position is normally viewed as an intellectual weakness rather than a sign of moral strength. With this in mind, we asked leading scientists what they got wrong during the pandemic.

Continue reading...

Novavax Covid vaccine approved for use in over-18s in UK

Posted on by

Nuvaxovid is similar to flu jab and may have reduced side-effects, which could persuade vaccine holdouts

The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax has been approved by the UK regulator for use in people over the age of 18.

The vaccine will not be immediately widely available as its use as part of the UK’s vaccination programme will be considered by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Continue reading...

Covid: Europe set for ‘long period of tranquillity’ in pandemic, says WHO

Posted on by

Vaccinations, milder Omicron and arrival of spring should keep death rate low as cases rise to all time high

Europe could soon enter a “long period of tranquillity” that amounts to a “ceasefire” in the pandemic thanks to the less severe Omicron variant, high levels of immunity and the arrival of warmer spring weather, the World Health Organization has said.

In an upbeat assessment, Hans Kluge, the WHO’s Europe director, said the region was in a position of “higher protection” that could “bring us enduring peace”, even if a new, more virulent variant than Omicron should emerge.

Continue reading...

Albanese demands Colbeck ‘resign today’ as nation records 82 Covid deaths – as it happened

Posted on by

Albanese says aged care services minister ‘must resign today’; CMO says ‘we are past the peak’ of Omicron as nation records at least 82 Covid-19 deaths, with dozens of cases in ICU; bushfire emergency warning issued for East Rockingham. This blog is now closed

Speaking of the ongoing Covid aged care crisis, health and aged care minister Greg Hunt is defending the government’s handling of the situation, telling ABC radio that 99% of aged care workers are now double-vaccinated:

We have over 99% vaccination rate amongst aged care workers, one of the highest rates in the world; 91% vaccination rate for residents. We’ve been able to have one of the lowest rates of loss of life in aged care in the world ...

But it is immensely hard for so many. The mental health impacts of people being locked down in aged care, which is a protective mechanism for them, but at the same time it has a huge impact on their quality of life.

If they can’t endorse [federal environment minister Sussan Ley] they should get out of the way and let the federal executive ensure we can get things done.

Continue reading...

‘My life completely turned around’: is manifesting the key to happiness – or wishful thinking?

Posted on by

The controversial concept of willing your goals into existence has leapt in popularity since Covid began. But how do you do it – and can it help you realise your dreams?

In the first months of the UK’s spring 2020 lockdown, Jennifer Doyle, a teacher and single mother, was at a low point. “I was in a bit of a hole, struggling to cope on my own and focusing only on the negatives of my life,” says the 39-year-old. “Then – during a Zoom quiz, of course – my friend said I should look into manifestation to help. I did – and my energy totally shifted. I started thinking about what I wanted from life, rather than what was wrong with it.”

Doyle was not alone. In early July 2020, Google Trends reported a peak in searches for “manifestation”, which is often described as a way of willing your goals into existence. In the past 22 months, the website Life Coach Directory has seen a 450% rise in potential clients searching for manifestation techniques. On TikTok, the hashtag #manifestation has 13.9bn views. It is part of the huge wellness market, which is worth about £1.1bn.

Continue reading...

Are we getting any closer to understanding long Covid?

Posted on by

Extreme fatigue, brain fog, sleep disturbances, chest pain and skin rashes. These are just a few of the on-going symptoms of long Covid, a disorder that can persist for many months after an initial Covid infection. With such a vast range of symptoms, and health organisations stretched to capacity by the acute stage of the disease, long Covid has continued to remain something of a mystery.

But with numerous studies trying to understand what exactly people are suffering from, progress is being made. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Akiko Iwasaki about what we do and don’t know about long Covid, and how the vaccine could reveal clues about what’s behind the disorder

Archive: Channel 4 News, Sky News

Continue reading...

First patients of pioneering CAR T-cell therapy ‘cured of cancer’

Posted on by

Cancer-killing cells still present 10 years on, with results suggesting therapy is a cure for certain blood cancers

Two of the first human patients to be treated with a revolutionary therapy that engineers immune cells to target specific types of cancer still possess cancer-killing cells a decade later with no sign of their illness returning.

The finding suggests CAR T-cell therapy constitutes a “cure” for certain blood cancers, although adapting it to treat solid tumours is proving more challenging.

Continue reading...

Netherlands fertility doctor used own sperm to father 21 children

Posted on by

Investigation into Jos Beek matches his DNA with children of mothers he treated between 1973 and 1986

A gynaecologist in the Netherlands conceived 21 children and potentially dozens more using his own sperm after prospective parents turned to him for fertility treatment, an investigation has discovered.

Jos Beek worked at Elisabeth hospital in Leiderdorp, now part of Alrijne hospital, between 1973 and 1998. He died in 2019.

Continue reading...

Scientists developing single test to detect risk of four cancers in women

Posted on by

Experts may be able to predict risk of developing ovarian, breast, womb and cervical cancers using cells from routine smear test

Scientists are developing a “revolutionary” test to predict a woman’s risk of four cancers using a single sample collected during cervical screening.

Using cervical cells from a routine smear test, experts may be able to spot ovarian and breast cancer or predict their likelihood of developing, according to two papers published in the journal Nature Communications. Further results are due on the ability of the WID-test – women’s cancer risk identification – to predict womb and cervical cancer, researchers said.

Continue reading...

‘The scariest thing’: the children living with long Covid

Posted on by

Though still rare, the numbers of kids across the US reporting symptoms long after infection are increasing, doctors say

Javanese Hailey found her daughter hunched over in pain inside their home in Manassas, Virginia, about 32 miles south-west of Washington DC.

The nine-year-old could barely walk because her stomach hurt so much, Hailey said, recalling that Sunday evening in October.

Continue reading...