The virus is evolving and new strains are more transmissible. Will the vaccines work against these new variants? How can researchers stay ahead of the virus’s evolution?
Craig Kelly has had his neck saved by two prime ministers: Malcolm Turnbull before the 2016 election and Scott Morrison prior to the last one. It’s unlikely anyone will step in for him a third time.
Getting pharmacies more involved could be a game changer, particularly for reaching minorities, older adults without internet access and others left behind.
The Novavax vaccine is the first that provides objective scientific evidence that it can protect people against the variant virus circulating in South Africa.
Palestinian territories are impoverished and densely populated – ripe for the spread of coronavirus. Israel may have a practical as well as moral obligation to extend its vaccine program to them.
Getting a vaccine is proving difficult for many older people now, but the mad rush for the vaccine won’t last long. Many people don’t want to get one at all, and that will impede herd immunity.
You need a new shot every year because current flu vaccines provide limited and temporary protection. But researchers’ new strategy could mean a one-and-done influenza vaccine is on the way.
Censoring misinformation on social media may only have limited benefits. Responding with facts, however, might be an opportunity to positively influence audiences that are otherwise hard to reach.
Perhaps you’ve heard mRNA vaccines cause autoimmune disease, or connect you to the internet. Now the Pfizer vaccine has been approved in Australia, it’s important we iron out these misconceptions.
Vaccine hesitancy has resulted in multiple vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. Research on vaccine hesitancy in South Africa is limited. But growing evidence suggests that it’s becoming a problem.
From designing vaccine supply chains to improving PPE to rebuilding trust, systematically bringing engineering knowhow to public health problems could make a huge difference.
If South Africa is serious about being able to supply anti-pandemic vaccines in future, it needs to rethink the scale of financial, technical and strategic investment into vaccine production.
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