The Affordable Care Act has allowed many preventive health services, including cancer screenings and vaccines, to be free of charge. But legal challenges may lead to costly repercussions for patients.
OzSAGE brings together infectious disease and public heath experts, engineers, architects, economists and social scientists. Its first recommendations deal with ventilation and the measures that will have to accompany widespread vaccination.
Most kids will be unvaccinated if schools in the two largest states re-open in term 4. There may still be community transmission, but there are measures we can take to shield kids from the virus.
Some states have a legal framework allowing “mature minors” to make their own health care decisions – but they apply it in different ways, and some don’t have it at all.
A 2015 paper on chicken virus evolution is being taken out of context and used to fuel fears about COVID-19 vaccines. Its lead author aims to clarify the science in hopes of saving lives.
The U.S. FDA has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. How is approval different from emergency use authorization, and what difference will it make to a vaccine that’s already in global use?
Trials are under way to ascertain whether COVID vaccines are safe and effective for children under 12. In the meantime, it’s reassuring to note that generally, young kids cope OK with the virus.
After enduring a devastating wave of infections, deaths and lockdowns at the start of the pandemic, Italy is putting in place tougher anti-COVID measures, including a vaccine passport.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Some of the 60 economists surveyed thought cash incentives and lotteries should be held in reserve as a last resort — but two-thirds thought they shouldn’t be used at all.
The largest immigration detention centre is located in a COVID hot spot in western Sydney. We need to make vaccinations for detainees and staff an urgent priority.
A public health scholar based in New Delhi explains how India has emerged from the massive spike in COVID-19 cases, even as the country braces for a new wave.
For the one in 10 people with a significant fear of needles, getting a vaccination is distressing. This can disrupt vaccination campaigns, but there are effective ways to manage pain and fear.
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand