A critical care doctor brings a frontlines perspective to the frustration of dealing firsthand with vaccine hesitancy and discusses the limitations of science and medicine.
COVID-19 vaccination in Africa is speeding up.
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In Africa, it’s more rational to prioritise vaccine access, rapid rollout and community engagement, than pushing the narrative of vaccine-induced population immunity.
Many individuals are rejecting the COVID-19 vaccines for personal reasons.
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America’s founders accepted the reality of human selfishness. But, they also said people were capable of thinking for the good of the whole, which is necessary for a free society.
By 1980, all U.S. states required immunization for school attendance. Ontario followed suit in 1982.
(AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The effects of Ontario’s compulsory school immunization show there are advantages and disadvantages of requiring vaccination.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy president David Mabuza, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize visiting the Aspen Pharmacare sterile manufacturing facility.
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Vaccine manufacturing doesn’t come cheap. It depends heavily on support from developed countries. It also requires much more than relaxing intellectual property rights and a desire for vaccine equity.
Age and education level are the main factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. While this affects Māori and Pacific communities, basic access to health care and information is more important.
Empathetically exploring the positive motivations of people who are vaccine hesitant may help improve acceptance for COVID-19 vaccines and others.
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From maternity wards to primary care, Canadian researchers are looking to find the positive motivations of vaccine hesitant people, whether they are new parents or other adults.
Roald Dahl with his wife Patricia Neal and children Olivia (right) Tessa, and Theo (in pram).
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We’ve gone from a novel virus to several COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year. Here’s what we’ve learned from earlier vaccines to allow this to happen.
Over 1.4 million people have died from COVID-19 so far this year. How history memorializes them will reflect those we most value.
Author provided
As ready as you are to be done with COVID-19, it’s not going anywhere soon. A historian of disease describes how once a pathogen emerges, it’s usually here to stay.
Getting children vaccinated can protect them and others from potentially deadly diseases.
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For a COVID-19 vaccine to stop the pandemic, a large percentage of the population will have to get vaccinated. A law professor explains how far government and employer vaccine mandates can legally go.
A child receives a vaccine against Ebola from a nurse in Goma on August 7, 2019.
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Jako Nice, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
The study of two hospitals was a first for researching the microbiology of the built environment in South Africa – a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding how to design healthier buildings.
Children at window of a building in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Children will be vulnerable if vaccinations are postponed.
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South Africa could lose many children due to a measles outbreak which is completely preventable.
An elderly man at a social grant paypoint in South Africa after the COVID-19 lockdown. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP) ()
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South Africa must develop a comprehensive health and economic strategy if it is to stop the COVID-19 pandemic without causing long term socio-economic damage.
To how many others will one infected person spread the infection?
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Epidemiologists want to quickly identify any emerging disease’s potential to spread far and wide. Dependent on a number of factors, this R0 number helps them figure that out and plan accordingly.
Successful vaccination against measles in childhood should provide lifetime protection.
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Measles infection can be easily managed with prompt health care and symptom management. But without care, mild symptoms can turn into life threatening secondary infections or long-term effects.
Paediatrician, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance; Clinical Lecturer, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney
Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, and Professor of Neurology, University of Liverpool