Are masks a religious matter, or is religion being used to suit people’s political agendas? A scholar of Christian conservatism and culture argues both can be true.
How should COVID-19 vaccine be prioritized?
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A team of experts argues that after taking care of essential workers, COVID-19 vaccinations should be given to the greatest transmitters of the virus, who are mostly the young.
A public health lawyer and ethicist explores the thorny issue of whether requiring people to be vaccinated against COVID-19 might be necessary. And if so, can people object citing their faith?
Religious objections to vaccinations have been around almost as long as vaccinations themselves. This presents a new challenge to policy makers as we get closer to a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
Current rates of vaccine hesitancy could jeopardize America’s efforts to achieve herd immunity.
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Current rates of vaccine hesitancy could jeopardize efforts to achieve herd immunity in the US, says Matt Motta, a political scientist who studies vaccine uptake and effective health communication.
The CDC recommends schools have one nurse for every 750 students. Only about 40% of schools meet that bar.
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School nurses were already overwhelmed, with hundreds of students and staff in their charge. Now, COVID-19 screenings and testing have become their priority.
Billions of people are going to need a coronavirus vaccine and that demand is going to be hard to meet.
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Once a coronavirus vaccine is approved, billions of doses need to be manufactured. Current vaccine production is nowhere near ready, for a variety of reasons, but planning now could help.
Challenge trials – purposefully exposing volunteers to the coronavirus – could speed up the development of a vaccine. But there are serious ethical concerns with this approach.
The government should used trusted spokespeople, tailor information so it can be understood by different groups, acknowledge people’s concerns, be transparent, and seek public feedback along the way.
Experts are confident that there will be a vaccine next year.
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As grim as things are with the pandemic raging in the US and the mounting death toll, there are many reasons to be optimistic there will be a vaccine by early next year.
Anti-vaccination supporters in Olympia, Wash., protesting the state’s stay-at-home orders.
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Those opposing vaccinations often mistrust government, science and the news media. There may be better ways to persuade them than by offering facts only.
Most of us are only starting to realise how grim this Christmas is likely to be. Not only will so many people be without jobs, but lots of usual family get-togethers will be stymied because of restricted…
The vaccine hasn’t completed phase 3 trials, so we can’t be sure it will be safe and effective for all. The Australian government’s deal is contingent on these trials being successful.
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