Category Archives: Health

‘I’m scared I’ve left it too late to have kids’: the men haunted by their biological clocks

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It’s certainly not just women who worry about ageing and procreation – and now men have begun speaking about their own deep anxieties

It was when Connor woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom that he started thinking about it. The 38-year-old civil servant from London got back into bed and couldn’t sleep: he was spiralling. “I thought: ‘Shit, I might not be able to have children. It actually might not happen,’” he says.

“It started with me thinking about how I’m looking to buy a house, and everything is happening too late in my life,” Connor says. “Then I started worrying about how long it would take me to save again to get married, after I buy the house. I was doing the maths on that – when will I be able to afford to be married, own a house and start having kids? Probably in my 40s. Then I started freaking out about what the quality of my sperm will be like by then. What if something’s wrong with the child? And then I thought, oh no, what if me and my girlfriend don’t work out? I’ll be in an even worse scenario in a few years.”

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The Guardian view on Bolsonaro’s Covid strategy: murderous folly | Editorial

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A congressional investigation has laid bare the disregard with which the Brazilian president treated the lives of his compatriots

To describe the Brazilian senate’s 1,180 page report on Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the Covid pandemic as damning would be inadequate. Formally approved on Tuesday by a cross-party committee, the report chronicles not just bad leadership but wilful, lethal acts of folly, carried out by a Donald Trump mini-me who sacrificed lives on the altar of his own unfounded presumptions. It recommends that President Bolsonaro face criminal indictments for a catalogue of actions and omissions that could have led to as many as 300,000 avoidable deaths.

As Mr Bolsonaro presided over a death toll which is now the second-highest in the world (after the United States), the report finds he deliberately sent his citizens over the top without defences in the battle against Covid. Other countries scrambled to buy up vaccines when they became available; the president delayed for half a year while ruthlessly pursuing a herd immunity strategy. He himself claims not to have yet been vaccinated. When Brazilians suffered a record rise in deaths during a 24-hour period last March, their president told them to “stop whining”. The wearing of masks and social distancing was treated by Mr Bolsonaro as a kind of weakness in the face of what he described as a “little flu”, and he trolled regional governments’ attempts to introduce Covid restrictions. By presidential decree he tried to keep businesses such as gyms and spas open at the height of the pandemic. Emulating his political hero in Washington, Mr Bolsonaro has disseminated misinformation online and recommended quack treatments for the virus, in the teeth of all scientific evidence. This week, Facebook and YouTube removed a video by him which falsely linked vaccines to the Aids virus. President Bolsonaro’s guiding philosophy during the pandemic is best summed up by the comment he made to journalists a year ago: “All of us are going to die one day … There is no point in escaping from that, in escaping from reality. We have to stop being a country of sissies.”

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Thousands of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine doses going to waste despite near-record production

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Authorities move to head off supply glut amid calls for increased donations to lower-income neighbouring countries

Almost 1,000 Covid vaccination providers are destroying expired AstraZeneca supplies, with the wastage of 31,833 doses reported despite Australian production of the vaccine continuing at near-record rates.

There are now fears more will be binned as rates of uptake wane due to increased vaccination choice and the federal health department stepping in to manage the overstock.

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FDA advisers recommend approval of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for kids aged 5-11

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Nearly unanimous vote clears the way for possible approval for emergency use next month, making nearly 30m children eligible

Independent advisers for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11 – the first vaccine available for younger children in the US.

Of 18 members, 17 voted yes and one abstained.

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Why pregnant women need clearer messaging on Covid vaccine safety

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Analysis: early uncertainty around vaccination advice for expectant mothers has left them confused and hesitant

In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, there was uncertainty around almost everything, from who was more adversely affected by Covid-19 to who should get vaccinated first – or at all.

But as awareness about the illness and vaccine safety has grown, one group in particular remains confused and torn about the risk of immunisation: expectant mothers.

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Covid measures ‘plan C’ has been discussed, senior official tells MPs

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Chief scientific adviser for Department of Health refers to tougher proposal beyond ‘plan B’ that has ‘not been extensively worked up’

A “plan C” for tougher coronavirus restrictions has been discussed in official circles, a senior civil servant has confirmed, despite ministers denying that tougher measures are an option this Christmas should the rate of new cases continue to rise.

The indication of planning for potentially harsher restrictions comes as senior scientists and Labour push for the rollout of “plan B”, an existing package of “light-touch” measures including advice to work from home and compulsory face masks in some settings.

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The psychology of masks: why have so many people stopped covering their faces?

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In England, masks are expected and recommended in crowded and enclosed spaces – but not legally required. Many have abandoned them altogether. What would convince everyone to put them back on?

Dave stopped wearing his face mask “the second I didn’t have to. I grudgingly wore it, because it was the right thing to do and because it was mandatory,” says the teacher from East Sussex. “But I felt, and still do, that the reason we were told to wear masks was to make scared people feel less scared.” He didn’t feel awkward abandoning his mask, he says, as “hardly anybody bothers”, but he will put one on when visiting the vet, pharmacist or doctor, because he knows they want him to. “I feel it’s the respectful thing to do, but it’s a bit of theatre.”

Every month since July, when the legal requirement to wear face masks – along with other restrictions – ended in England, the number of mask-wearers has dropped. In figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week, 82% of adults reported they had worn a mask outside their home in the previous seven days – a drop from 86% the previous month. But that seems high to me. In my own highly unscientific survey of people coming out of a shopping centre in a south coast town centre last week, only around one in 25 were wearing a mask and overwhelmingly they tended to be older people – the most vulnerable social group. “When everyone else stopped, I stopped,” says Holly. Her friend Chantelle works in a supermarket and also hasn’t worn a mask since July. Does she mind customers not wearing masks? “Not really,” she says, “because I’m not wearing one. Doing an eight-hour shift in it was horrible.” Would they go back to wearing masks? “If we had to, then yeah, I would,” says Holly, but neither would by choice.

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‘Gunmen killed a midwife who refused to leave a woman in labour’

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Zahra Mirzaei pioneered ‘groundbreaking’ maternity services in Kabul, but has been forced to flee. She says she won’t stop fighting for dignified care for Afghanistan’s women and girls

When Afghanistan’s first midwife-led birth centre opened in the impoverished district of Dasht-e-Barchi in western Kabul this year it was a symbol of hope and defiance.

It began receiving expectant mothers in June, just over a year after a devastating attack by gunmen on the maternity wing at the local hospital left 24 people dead, including 16 mothers, a midwife and two young children.

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Why people believe Covid conspiracy theories: could folklore hold the answer?

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Researchers use AI – and witchcraft folklore – to map the coronavirus conspiracy theories that have sprung up

Researchers have mapped the web of connections underpinning coronavirus conspiracy theories, opening a new way of understanding and challenging them.

Using Danish witchcraft folklore as a model, the researchers from UCLA and Berkeley analysed thousands of social media posts with an artificial intelligence tool and extracted the key people, things and relationships.

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The world was woefully unprepared for a pandemic. Let’s be ready for the next one | Elhadj As Sy

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The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board is calling for a coherent action plan to counter future health emergencies

Two years ago, three months before coronavirus erupted, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) issued a warning to the international community that a pandemic was only a matter of time, and that the world was not prepared. Tragically, we were proved right.

After 20 months of Covid-19, with nearly five million directly attributed deaths and economic devastation, we say again that the world is not prepared. It has neither the capacity to end the current pandemic in the near future, nor to prevent the next one.

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Revealed: scale of abuse and sexual harassment of women in UK military

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‘Widespread’ mistreatment linked to physical pain, fatigue, alcohol abuse and depression, research finds

Women are suffering serious and long-lasting physical and mental health problems from “widespread” emotional bullying, sexual harassment and physical assault in the UK military, research reveals.

Those most likely to have experienced such treatment were younger personnel, those who have held the rank of officer or had a combat or combat support role, according to findings published in the BMJ Military Health journal.

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Experts frustrated as German footballer says he has not had Covid jab

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Immunologists say Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich is mistaken and vaccine misunderstandings persist

German immunologists have warned that fundamental misunderstandings about the way vaccines work persist among the population, after the Bayern Munich and Germany footballer Joshua Kimmich confirmed over the weekend that he had declined to receive a Covid jab due to concerns over long-term side-effects.

“I have concerns about the lack of long-term studies,” the 26-year-old told Sky Sport. “I am of course aware of my responsibility. I follow all hygiene measures and get tested every two to three days. Everyone should make the decision for themselves.”

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Ed Sheeran self-isolates after testing positive for Covid-19

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Singer, whose new album = is out on Friday, says he is cancelling in-person commitments

Ed Sheeran has announced on his Instagram page that he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating.

In the post he said: “It means that I’m now unable to plough ahead with any in-person commitments for now, so I’ll be doing as many of my planned interviews/performances I can from my house.”

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Current approach to wildfires risks lives and wastes money, say experts

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Researchers call for new firefighting techniques that focus on managing landscapes, as global heating sees increase in blazes

A new approach is urgently needed to tackle global wildfires as current methods are no longer working, draining the public purse and placing lives at risk, according to experts.

This summer saw some of the worst wildfires in history and underscored the destructive impacts of global heating. As Cop26 approaches and is expected to shine a light on the importance of protecting ecosystems and building defences to avoid loss of homes and lives, experts say a lack of foresight and funding worldwide means harmful wildfires will continue to rage, putting communities and firefighters in danger.

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‘People will make the right judgments’: Rishi Sunak questioned about not wearing a mask – video

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The chancellor has refused to commit to wearing a mask inside a crowded House of Commons, as a leading government scientific adviser said ministers were mistaken to believe that vaccinations alone would keep Covid levels under control

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Which protects you more against Covid – vaccination or prior infection? | David Spiegelhalter and Anthony Masters

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For the Delta variant at least, the latest analysis suggests they are roughly equivalent

In the United States, the issue of whether “natural immunity” from prior infection is as good as vaccination is becoming politicised.

Fortunately, the Office for National Statistics has released results from a sophisticated analysis of its Covid-19 infection survey that address this issue. Helped by test-and-trace data, it identified respondents’ “infection episodes” and used other data to infer whether participants were previously vaccinated, had a previous infection or neither.

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Australia Covid live updates: Victoria to have freedom of movement from Friday as state records 1,935 cases; 296 cases in NSW

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Victoria may reach jab milestone allowing greater freedoms this week, while figures show worrying number of school closures from outbreaks

The full rundown on Covid in NSW today, brought to you by AAP:

NSW has added a further 296 locally acquired infections to its Covid caseload along with four more deaths.

Some 480 people with the virus remain in hospitals across the state, 119 of them in intensive care.

Meanwhile, Halloween enthusiasts are being warned to keep trick-or-treating Covid-safe.

“If you and your family are planning to celebrate Halloween this year ... aim to keep the celebrations outside, provide closed packaging for treats and instead of communal lolly bowls consider other ways to distribute your treats,” NSW Health’s Jeremy McAnulty advised on Saturday.

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UK government paves way to bring in tough ‘plan B’ Covid rules

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Councils consulted over support for measures such as vaccine passports amid warnings by senior doctors that NHS faces winter illness ‘triple whammy’

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New evidence has emerged that the government is paving the way to implement “plan B” measures in England to combat the spread of Covid-19, amid warnings from health chiefs that a “vortex of pressures” is encircling the NHS.

In the clearest sign to date that Whitehall is actively considering additional measures, the Observer has learnt that the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) contacted local authorities on Friday to canvass their level of support for the “immediate rollout of the winter plan – plan B”.

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‘Incredibly worried’: end of Covid disaster payment looms for many still out of work

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At 80% vaccination the support will be gone. Some will be hit hard, particularly if Australia’s economy doesn’t bounce back strongly

It’s the lifeline that’s kept nearly 2 million people in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT on a steady weekly income during Covid lockdowns.

Since June, the government’s Covid-19 disaster payments – paid at either $750 or $450 a week, or $200 a week for existing welfare recipients – have been available to people who lost work due to stay-at-home restrictions.

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I knew that was going to happen… The truth about premonitions

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Uncanny and creepy, premonitions that turn out to be authentic can feel profound. But is there science to explain them?

Around seven years ago, Garrett, was in a local Pizza Hut with his friends, having a day so ordinary that it is cumbersome to describe. He was 16 – or thereabouts – and had been told by teachers to go around nearby businesses and ask for gift vouchers that the school could use as prizes in a raffle. There were five other teenagers with Garrett, and they’d just finished speaking to the restaurant manager when suddenly, out of nowhere, Garrett’s his body was flooded with shock. He felt cold and clammy and had an “overwhelming sense that something had happened”. He desperately tried to stop himself crying in front of his peers.

“It was like I’d just been told something terrible,” the now 23-year-old from the southwest of England says (his name has been changed on his request). “I couldn’t tell you exactly what it was, but I just knew something had happened.” Garrett returned home and tried to distract himself from a feeling he describes as grief. The phone rang. His mum answered it. A few hours earlier – around the time Garrett was in the restaurant – his grandfather had died from a sudden heart attack while on a cruise.

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