Category Archives: Health

Covid Australia live update: Perth joins Sydney and Darwin in lockdown as AstraZeneca offered to under-60s

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NSW is bracing for an escalation in local Covid cases as the state government prepares a support package for businesses. Follow latest updates

Okay, so originally we were going to hear from the Queensland leaders at 9am, but this has been pushed back to 11am.

It’s unclear if this is because any big announcements are expected, but it’s worth noting the daily numbers for the state haven’t been published yet, which is a little unsual.

I brought you some quotes earlier from chief medical officer Paul Kelly’s interview with ABC.

Here is a clip if you are keen to hear the words straight from the source!

"AstraZeneca was always available for anyone, in terms of the regulation, from TGA, for anyone over the age of 18. There's a preference for Pfizer until the age of 60."

Chief Medical Officer @PKelly_CBR speaking to @lisamillar after another change to the vaccine rollout. pic.twitter.com/j3YZ3CAVPb

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Now is not the time to abandon all Covid caution

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Analysis: scientists say the Delta variant should make the government think twice about resting all its hopes on vaccines

If the new health secretary is to be believed, we are about to embark on an “exciting new journey” come 19 July. Sajid Javid, like the prime minister, appears confident that restrictions will be lifted irreversibly on that date. The data, however, is beginning to tell a different story.

When Boris Johnson said his government would be guided by “data, not dates”, the scientific community – for the most part – endorsed the cautious approach. Now, the signs are ominous. Driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant, cases are once again starting to rise exponentially. Vaccination rates have slowed. An exhausted NHS is seeing a rise in hospitalisations. Over half of all people in the UK are not fully vaccinated.

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Mixing Covid vaccines offers strong immune protection – study

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Oxford researchers say having AstraZeneca then Pfizer jabs is almost as potent as two shots of Pfizer

Having different Covid vaccines for first and second shots produces a strong immune response to the virus, according to research that will help improve the resilience of vaccine programmes around the world.

Scientists in Oxford looked at the impact of a mix-and-match approach to vaccinations where people were given either the standard two shots of Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, or a combination of the two.

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Australia Covid live update: national cabinet mandates vaccinations for aged care and quarantine staff; AstraZeneca to be available for under-60s

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An $11m grant announced to pay for leave for aged care staff to be vaccinated; Darwin in lockdown after four cases; restrictions for WA and SA; Queensland makes masks mandatory in hotspots. Follow live

Well that was a press conference and a half.

Here’s a brief summary of the key things Scott Morrison announced:

Another decision out of national cabinet is an agreement to make it mandatory for all quarantine workers, including those working in transport, to be vaccinated. However, this will be the responsibility of the states and territories, not the commonwealth.

This announcement follows the case of a Sydney limousine driver transporting international air crews contracting Covid-19 while being unvaccinated, NSW police admitting this breached no public health orders.

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India’s Covid gender gap: women left behind in vaccination drive

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Misinformation and access issues combined with patriarchal social norms fuelling disparity in distribution across most states

Deep-rooted structural inequalities and patriarchal values are to blame for India’s worrying Covid vaccine gender gap, campaigners and academics have warned.

As of 25 June, of the 309m Covid vaccine doses delivered since January 2021, 143m were administered to women compared with nearly 167m to men, according to CoWin, India’s national statistics site – a ratio of 856 doses given to women for every 1,000 given to men. The difference is not accounted for by India’s gender imbalance of 924 women to 1,000 men.

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Sufferers of chronic pain have long been told it’s all in their head. We now know that’s wrong

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In the first of a series looking at chronic pain and long Covid, Linda Geddes explores the growing realisation that pain can be a disease in and of itself – and the pandemic could be making it worse

It started with headaches and neck pain, but no sooner had Tricia Kalinowski’s physiotherapist come up with a strategy to tackle these problems, then another area of her body would start to hurt: her lower back, her hip or her jaw.

“The physio was chasing the pain up and down my body,” says Kalinowski, 60, from Minneapolis, US. Eventually, she was referred to an oral surgeon, who believed the root cause of these issues was a problem with one of the joints in her jaw, so she underwent surgery to replace a thumbnail-sized disc.

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‘Health systems should be prepared’: doctors brace for tsunami of long Covid

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As the debilitating post-viral condition affects millions around the world, medical experts are scrambling to nail down what causes it – and how to treat it

When his throat first started hurting, John Brown didn’t think much of it.

It was March 2020 and the 48-year-old was onboard the Voyager of the Seas, a cruise travelling through the Pacific Islands.

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Covid live news: Luxembourg PM ‘tests positive for Covid’; UK records 14,876 new cases

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Xavier Bettel in isolation after self-test result, according to reports; UK’s daily cases figure falls slightly from Saturday

France reported 1,345 coronavirus patients in intensive care today - four less than yesterday - and updated its overall death toll to 84,512, reports Reuters.

UK opposition leader Keir Starmer says there are “huge questions still to answer” following the resignation of health minister Matt Hancock.

Asked if Sajid Javid is a good replacement for Hancock, who resigned after footage emerged of him kissing an aide, PA reports that the Labour leader said:

We need a strong Health Secretary as we come through the pandemic.

But obviously there’s huge questions still to answer. If anybody thinks that the resignation of Matt Hancock is the end of the issue, I think they’re wrong and I think the incoming Health Secretary and the Prime Minister now have serious questions to answer about the CCTV, about the access, the passes, the contracts, etc.

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Delta Covid variant may be edging race against vaccines

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Analysis: research suggests ‘scarily fleeting’ contact could infect, and that places with high jab rates are susceptible

The transmission advantage of the Delta variant that is spreading at pace globally is a sign that the race between vaccination and the virus could tip in favour of the latter unless countries ramp up their immunisation campaigns and practise caution, scientists say.

The variant, first detected in India, has been identified in at least 92 countries and is considered the “fittest” variant yet of the virus that causes Covid-19, with its enhanced ability to prey on the vulnerable – particularly in places with low vaccination rates.

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Sydney Covid lockdown restrictions: NSW update to coronavirus rules

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New Covid restrictions for the greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongong have been introduced. Can you have visitors? Is mask-wearing compulsory? Is travelling permitted? Here’s the full list of what you can and can’t do in NSW

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has announced a two-week lockdown for greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongong that came into effect from 6pm on Saturday 26 June until midnight on Friday 9 July.

This supersedes the lockdown already in effect for those who live in or whose usual place of work is in Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and City of Sydney councils.

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Australia Covid update: outbreaks sweep nation as NSW reports 30 new infections, and Perth, NT and Qld record local cases

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Sydney’s Bondi cluster grows to 110, Virgin Australia flight attendant tests positive, Darwin locks down, WA imposes restrictions and Queensland reports outbreak of Alpha variant

New South Wales reported 30 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday as a string of new outbreaks across Australia forced states and territories to introduce sweeping new restrictions, and prompted urgent calls for vaccine eligibility to be widened.

On the first full day of lockdown for the entire greater Sydney region since May 2020, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the city to prepare for a further increase in cases over the coming days as the Bondi cluster which sparked the new outbreak grew to 110.

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US fight against Covid threatened by growing vaccine gap in the south

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Less than 50% of adults in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine

In the United States, to bring about a long-awaited end to the Covid-19 pandemic, federal and state health officials have been urging all Americans to get vaccinated. But, amid stagnating national vaccine rates, some states in the south have been lagging behind when it comes to vaccinating their populations, raising fears of deepening regional disparities.

That raises the prospect that for a complex web of reasons much of the southern US will continue to experience the pandemic in a different way than the rest of America. That is especially worrisome as the south contains more communities that are more vulnerable to the virus.

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NSW and ACT Covid exposure sites: list and map of Sydney hotspots and coronavirus case locations

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Here are the current coronavirus hotspots and Covid-19 public exposure sites in Sydney, regional New South Wales and Canberra, and what to do if you’ve visited them. Our analysis and map shows where Covid cases are increasing, and a live data update tracks the daily case numbers in NSW

Authorities have released a list of public exposure sites in Sydney, regional NSW, and Canberra ACT visited by a confirmed case of Covid-19.

Here are the current coronavirus hotspots, Covid exposure sites, venues and case location alerts and what to do if you’ve visited them. See the full list and map below.

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Sajid Javid steps back into the cabinet to steer UK out of pandemic

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Incoming secretary of state faces daunting task while mastering his new position in the Department of Health as quickly as possible

Sajid Javid may have already served in two of the most testing offices of state, as chancellor of the exchequer and home secretary. But on Saturday he walked into what is now arguably the biggest and most challenging of all: the job of health secretary.

Not only does Javid have to steer the country out of what will hopefully be the final stages of the pandemic, ensuring we reach the end of what Boris Johnson has called the “irreversible road to freedom”.

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Coronavirus live news: Calls grow for Hancock to resign; greater Sydney under lockdown after Delta variant outbreak

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UK health secretary Matt Hancock is facing mounting pressure to quit over a tryst with a colleague

Just 11% of Russia’s 146 million population is fully vaccinated – whether due to vaccine skepticism, doubts about Sputnik or other Russian-made vaccines, or “nihilism”, as a Kremlin spokesperson has suggested.

But with more than 20,000 new cases reported across Russia in the last two days, as well as tough new restrictions on those who have not received their jabs, lines at public vaccination centres are now stretching out the door.

Related: ‘I don’t have a choice’: Russians scramble to get Covid vaccine amid new restrictions

Bangladesh has announced it will impose a tough new lockdown starting on Monday, after a “dangerous and alarming” surge in Delta variant cases of coronavirus.

AFP reports:

All government and private offices will be shut for a week and only medical-related transport will be allowed, the government said late Friday.

“No one can step out of their homes except in emergency cases,” a statement added.

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The Oxford vaccine: the trials and tribulations of a world-saving jab

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Amid bemusement from scientists at the deluge of often undeserved criticism, the Guardian pieces together the story behind the vaccine’s successes and failures

In January 2020, when most of the world slept soundly in ignorance of the pandemic coming its way, a group of scientists at Oxford University got to work on a vaccine to save the planet. They wanted it to be highly effective, cheap, and easy to use in even the poorest countries.

Prof Sarah Gilbert, Prof Andrew Pollard and others pulled it off. With speed crucial, they designed it and launched into trials before bringing in a business partner. The giant Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca would manufacture it, license it around the world – and not make a profit until the pandemic was over.

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‘I knew how dangerous things could become’: the perils of childbirth as a Black woman

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When she was pregnant, Anna Malaika Tubbs was thrilled – then terrified, knowing the shockingly high death rate of Black women in childbirth. Could she find a way to stay safe?

In the bathroom of a friend’s house in Washington DC, I waited anxiously for a few minutes before turning to look at the pregnancy test. It was positive. My eyes filled with tears; I was overjoyed, grateful and excited, but also very scared.

I think many parents can relate to this feeling, which seems to start as soon as we see that test result, and continues until our children are adults; we are overwhelmed with happiness for their mere existence while simultaneously terrified of the possibility of losing them. But as a Black feminist scholar, I was well aware that I had even more reason to worry.

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NSW toughens Covid rules for airport transport workers as police seek advice on Sydney limo driver

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NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller says he’s received ‘mixed messages’ about whether Bondi limousine driver broke rules

Drivers in New South Wales transporting international passengers and aircrew will now be required to be vaccinated against Covid and wear a mask.

The new rules were introduced after there was confusion over whether the driver at the centre of the Bondi outbreak, who was not vaccinated and did not wear a mask, had breached the law.

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‘We were never a priority’: Zimbabwe Covid ‘hotspots’ face strict lockdown

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Tighter restrictions in 12 mostly rural areas come as health service struggles to cope with third wave of infections

Zimbabwe’s government has designated 11 rural areas across three provinces Covid-19 hotspots this week after a sharp rise in cases. The measures come as the country battles to contain a third wave of coronavirus.

Mashonaland West, Masvingo and Bulawayo provinces have been put into strict localised lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus. The government had already declared hotspots in three other regions, the first in May and two others in early June.

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Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enough to be rolled out

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Diagnostic tool being piloted by NHS England shows ‘impressive results’ in spotting tumours in early stages

A simple blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer before any clinical signs or symptoms of the disease emerge in a person is accurate enough to be rolled out as a screening test, according to scientists.

The test, which is also being piloted by NHS England in the autumn, is aimed at people at higher risk of the disease including patients aged 50 or older.

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