These variants are definitely cause for concern. But there’s every indication we can adapt our vaccine strategy to combat these and other variants going forward.
A 2018 ruling that alcohol should be no cheaper than $1.30 per unit resulted in sales of cask wine - the most problematic drink for Darwin and the wider Northern Territory - to fall by half.
Yes, this news is disappointing - but it’s also no great surprise given how quickly this virus mutates. And it doesn’t yet mean Australia should bin its plan to use the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Michael Plank, University of Canterbury and Shaun Hendy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
A new study argues for selective border relaxations. But with COVID-19 more prevalent now than at almost any point in the past, the risk would be substantial.
Interim findings from the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response paint a bleak picture of global failure. If things don’t improve, a future pandemic could be truly catastrophic.
Researchers are already working to improve the current crop of mRNA vaccines. Hopefully this will help them become more practical and affordable for the entire world, not just first-world countries.
In contrast to other states after a positive case in a hotel quarantine worker, Victoria isn’t locking down. But the response is sensible and proportionate – we’re well positioned to manage this outbreak.
The guide asks questions about the woman’s age, how long she has been trying for a baby, whether she has been pregnant before, and the percentage of the male partner’s sperm that move normally.
With no national standard, casually employed staff, a lack of PPE and a refusal to account for aerosol transmission, infections such as the one that prompted Perth’s lockdown will keep happening.
Publishing hospitalisation data is a good start. But ultimately we need information about each aged care facility’s performance to be publicly available.
A recommendation from a German vaccine advisory body not to give the AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged over 65 has caused concern. But we should interpret this advice with caution.
We discovered many more mental health issues were recorded for both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence than we thought. Now it’s time to use our findings to improve public safety.
The language used to describe medications is confusing, with multiple names for the same drug. A change to prescribing rules from today should go a long way to addressing this issue.
Perth and surrounds will spend the next five days in lockdown, as authorities scramble to prevent a single case – a quarantine hotel security worker – from escalating into a full-blown COVID cluster.