Category Archives: Health

Australian authorities say three new cases of blood clots ‘very likely linked’ to AstraZeneca vaccine

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The Therapeutic Goods Administration says the patients, including an 80-year-old man, are all in a stable condition and recovering

Australian health authorities say another three cases of rare blood clots – including in an 80-year-old Victorian man – are very likely linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The medicines regulator on Friday night said the suspected cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) were in a 35-year-old New South Wales woman, a 49-year-old Queensland man and the 80-year-old.

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Oxford Malaria vaccine proves highly effective in Burkina Faso trial

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Vaccine developed by scientists at Jenner Institute, Oxford, shows up to 77% efficacy in trial over 12 months

A vaccine against malaria has been shown to be highly effective in trials in Africa, holding out the real possibility of slashing the death toll of a disease that kills 400,000 mostly small children every year.

The vaccine, developed by scientists at the Jenner Institute of Oxford University, showed up to 77% efficacy in a trial of 450 children in Burkina Faso over 12 months.

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What’s causing Australia’s mental health crisis? – with Lenore Taylor

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In the wake of the pandemic, mental ill health is on the rise, putting more pressure on what some say is an already broken system. Editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor and associate editor Lucy Clark speak to Gabrielle Jackson about what’s causing Australia’s mental health crisis, and how to fix it

Check out the full Australia’s mental health crisis series here.

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue can be reached on 1300 22 4636. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org

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EU asks states to back legal action against AstraZeneca

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Commission move causes concern about bringing case against key supplier of Covid vaccines

EU capitals have been asked by the European commission to back legal action against AstraZeneca by the end of the week over an alleged breach of its contractual obligations to supply member states with its Covid vaccine.

At a meeting with commission officials on Wednesday, diplomats from some member states raised concerns about the wisdom of the move, warning against rushing into a decision that might further undermine confidence in the vaccine.

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EU states begin using single-dose J&J Covid vaccine

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Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus jab rolled out after backing from European Medicines Agency

EU member states are starting to administer Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine after Europe’s drug regulator this week backed the single-dose shot, with several expected to impose age restrictions, as with the AstraZeneca jab.

Spain’s regional health authorities began using the shot on Thursday for people aged 70 to 79, two days after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced a possible link to a rare clotting disorder but stressed the shot’s benefits outweighed the risks.

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Revealed: big shortfall in Covax Covid vaccine-sharing scheme

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Only a fifth of Oxford/AstraZeneca doses expected by May delivered as export bans, hoarding and supply shortages bite

The global vaccine-sharing initiative Covax has so far delivered about one in five of the Oxford/AstraZeneca doses it estimated would arrive in countries by May, according to a Guardian analysis, starkly illustrating the cost of export bans, hoarding and supply shortages for a scheme that represents a key lifeline for many in the developing world.

The organisations that run Covax had predicted countries would receive fewer vaccines than expected after the Indian government restricted exports from its largest manufacturer in response to a catastrophic second wave there, but the figures reveal the shortfall to be severe, leaving many governments scrambling to secure doses elsewhere.

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The Gambia becomes second African state to end trachoma

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Health workers spent years targeting agonising and blinding eye disease, which was rife in rural areas

The Gambia has become the second country in Africa to eliminate trachoma, one of the leading causes of blindness.

The achievement, announced by the World Health Organization on Tuesday, came after decades of work on the disease, which has damaged the sight of about 1.9 million people worldwide. Ghana was the first country in Africa to eliminate the disease in 2018.

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‘Extraordinary’ Covid jab data is misleading, but the numbers are still hugely positive

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Analysis: The vaccine won’t protect everyone, but whatever figure scientists settle on, the data is highly encouraging

Is it really true that only 32 vaccinated people have been hospitalised with Covid? People might have reason to think so after the claim circulated in the media on Wednesday. The story was prompted by a Telegraph “exclusive” that stated “just 32 vaccinated people” had been hospitalised “in recent months”, according to data described as “extraordinary”.

And it would be extraordinary, were it true. Sadly, the real number of people admitted to hospital even several weeks after receiving a shot of vaccine – the time it takes for the immune system to mount a good defence – will be many times higher.

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Victorious over Covid, Australia and New Zealand grapple with vaccine rollout

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Australia’s glacially slow delivery of jabs derided as a ‘farce’, while in New Zealand only 4.5% of eligible people have been vaccinated

They were held up as Covid success stories, two countries at the bottom of the world that kept outbreaks under control and deaths low as the pandemic swept the rest of the globe.

Daily life in cities including Sydney and Auckland now feels largely back to pre-pandemic normal – restaurants are full, theatres are open, masks are scarce and offices are busy. A degree of international travel is also a reality thanks to the new “trans-Tasman travel bubble” – a two-way quarantine-free corridor between the neighbours.

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Australia news live: Scott Morrison says Brittany Higgins meeting ‘in process’; Victoria to make mRNA Covid vaccine

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State commits $50m to domestic manufacturing of cutting-edge vaccines; former Liberal staffer to ask Scott Morrison to fix ‘systemic coercive control’ in Parliament House. Follow live

That is where we will leave the blog for Wednesday. Thanks for following along. Here’s what made the news today:

The government has closed a loophole that would have allowed Australians to use New Zealand as a stepping stone to travelling to another country following the opening of the Trans Tasman travel bubble.

On Monday, health minister Greg Hunt amended the biosecurity legislation to specify that Australians could not go to any country other than New Zealand. Unlike Australia, New Zealand does not have an outbound travel ban.

Travellers should be aware that international travel to any other country, except New Zealand, continues to pose a significant risk to public health, and for that reason outgoing travel to other countries remains restricted.

“Australians considering travel outside of Australia or New Zealand are still required to apply for an exemption from the outgoing travel restrictions through ABF, and ensure they review the information available on Smartraveller relevant to their destination.”

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Pills in the post: how Covid reopened the abortion wars

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Lockdown revolutionised women’s access to home treatment – and strengthened the anti-abortion backlash

Kay, 34, realised her period was late a month into Britain’s lockdown. The coronavirus death count was spiralling across the country. Covid-19 was putting the NHS under unprecedented strain and Boris Johnson had given the British people what he described as “a very simple instruction” in an address to the nation from Downing Street: “You must stay at home.”

A worrying, unsettling time, and Kay, a mother of a six-year-old girl, needed to get hold of a pregnancy test kit. She went online and, two days later, took delivery of the test, learning of a positive result via two pink lines. It was the news she had dreaded.

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Killing of female polio vaccinators puts Afghan eradication campaign at risk

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Rise in cases feared as murders halt campaigns and leave many women too afraid to work

Gul Meena Hotak was on her regular rounds, going door-to-door giving polio vaccinations in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, when she heard gunshots.

The 22-year-old’s immediate concern was for the safety of her friend Negina and other colleagues nearby. “Negina and my supervisor were in a neighbourhood close by when a gunman approached and shot at them. My supervisor escaped with gunshot injuries, but Negina was killed on the spot,” Hotak said.

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Why is India seeing such a huge surge in Covid-19 cases?

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A ‘double mutant’ strain, lack of medical supplies and the relaxation of lockdowns have combined to foment disaster

India has seen a terrifying increase in coronavirus cases in the past few weeks. Tuesday saw another new record when the country racked up 295,041 new cases, up from around 273,000 from the previous day, with no sign that the surge is abating.

The capital Delhi was placed in lockdown for a week from Monday, and Maharashtra state, the centre of the surge and home to the financial capital, Mumbai, further tightened restrictions on shops and home deliveries from Tuesday.

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How vaccines are affecting Covid-19 outbreaks globally

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Despite their life-saving capabilities, many countries have yet to administer enough doses to reap the full benefits

Nearly six months after the first Covid-19 vaccines were approved for emergency use, Guardian analysis shows that the vast majority of the world is yet to see a substantial benefit.

Supply shortages, safety concerns, public apathy and slow rollouts have resulted in most countries still being reliant on onerous lockdowns and other quarantine measures to reduce the severity of their outbreaks.

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Comparing AstraZeneca vaccine blood-clot risk to odds of dying in a car crash unhelpful, experts say

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Downplaying the risk with inappropriate comparisons will not build coronavirus vaccine confidence, Australian medical panel says

Trying to downplay the risk of severe but rare clotting that appears to be associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine by comparing it with the clotting risk from taking the contraceptive pill, or to the chances of dying in a car crash, is unhelpful and likely ineffective in building vaccine confidence, an expert medical panel said.

Earlier in April the Australian Technical Advisory Group for Immunisation (Atagi) recommended those aged under 50 be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine due to a small but potentially increased risk of developing a rare and severe clotting disorder following the vaccine in that age group.

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Possible link between J&J Covid vaccine and rare blood clots, EU regulator finds

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Watchdog says benefits outweigh risks but that warning should be added to product information

Europe’s medicines regulator has found a possible link between Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine and rare cases of unusual blood clotting disorders it said were “very similar” to those that had occurred with the AstraZeneca shot.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Tuesday recommended a warning should be added to the vaccine’s product information, but stressed that the benefits of the shot – whose rollout was paused last week in Europe and the US – outweighed its risks.

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UK in drive to develop drugs to take at home to ‘stop Covid in its tracks’

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Ministers announce taskforce to ‘supercharge’ search for antiviral treatments to roll out as soon as autumn

People with mild Covid-19 could take a pill or capsule at home to prevent the illness turning serious and requiring hospital treatment, under government plans to fast-track development of treatments for the disease.

The government is launching an antivirals taskforce to find at least two drugs by the autumn that people can take to stop coronavirus in its tracks and speed up recovery from it.

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Middle-aged people who sleep six hours or less at greater risk of dementia, study finds

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UCL data of 10,000 volunteers shows cases 30% higher among those who slept poorly in their 50s, 60s and 70s

People who regularly sleep for six hours or less each night in middle age are more likely to develop dementia than those who routinely manage seven hours, according to a major study into the disease.

Researchers found a 30% greater risk of dementia in those who during their 50s, 60s and 70s consistently had a short night’s sleep, regardless of other risk factors such as heart and metabolic conditions and poor mental health.

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Australia news live: Greg Hunt has ‘full confidence’ in NZ Covid controls after border worker contracts coronavirus

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Queensland premier says people need confidence in vaccine before mass rollout; US secretary of state says countries investing in new coal ‘will hear from US’. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
• Secretary of state says countries investing in new coal ‘will hear from US’
• Australia increasingly isolated as US and others ramp up climate ambition
• Melbourne GP clinic with capacity to vaccinate 2,100 a week supplied with just 50 doses

The health department secretary, Brendan Murphy, has made opening remarks at the Covid-19 Senate inquiry. Murphy said Australia is “still in a very good place” even as comparable countries are battling fresh outbreaks and a fourth wave of the novel coronavirus.

He said:

“We are in a very fortunate place, even though we have border measures in place we are basically living a normal life – we have full football stadiums, restaurants, things are back to normal.”

Two state education ministers, Labor and Liberal, had criticised the milkshake video earlier today, via AAP.

Victoria’s Education Minister James Merlino called for the federal government to pull all content featured on The Good Society website, which launched as part of the Department of Education’s Respect Matters program last week.

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