Public health measures such as vaccine and mask mandates, lockdowns and school closures have been widely discussed in scientific and popular media.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic fades, we may debate whether public health responses could have been better. But first we need to understand what public health errors are — and are not.
One in three infants is not immunised against pertussis. For Māori babies, more than half are at risk from the potentially deadly infection. But there are relatively simple things we can do.
Stereotypes about the elderly having more than their fair share can be heightened during times of crisis when resources are seen to be scarce.
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Strict lockdowns, quarantines and testing have prevented many people in China from catching COVID-19. With concerns over Chinese vaccine efficacy and uptake, China may be facing a looming COVID-19 surge.
Bees offer insights into many scientific questions, from cooperating in close quarters to strategies for finding food.
A woman wears a face mask as she walks by the sculpture ‘The Illuminated Crowd’ on a street in Montréal. Vulnerable people may benefit from measures like face masks even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Decreases in respiratory infections during the pandemic suggest there may be a continued role for the selective, non-mandated use of measures like masks and social distancing even post-COVID-19.
The CDC’s new recommendations have caused consternation among the public, the media and even among doctors.
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The CDC’s controversial recommendation changes are based on new studies showing that most omicron transmission takes place within five days of the onset of illness.
What college students do during and after spring break can affect the number of COVID-19 cases on campus.
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Teachers wearing wireless microphones that amplify their voices could be one solution to ensuring children can hear — and saving teachers’ voices from strain, particularly in the pandemic.
The pandemic lifestyle we are all adjusting to is the life families of children with cancer have already been living. But there have been positives, too.
The best way to stop new variants from arising is to increase the proportion of vaccinated individuals while maintaining infection prevention measures like wearing masks and social distancing.
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Even with a variant like Omicron that may be more transmissible than earlier variants, vaccines remain the most effective tool for protection against COVID-19 and for ending the pandemic.
Amid the latest surge of COVID-19 cases, health care workers yet again are having to make difficult triage decisions in caring for patients.
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Supply chain issues, emergency science, social distancing requirements and a lot more free time offered both challenges and opportunities for research scientists.
Keeping mentally, physically and socially active helps people with dementia maintain their brain and thinking. But in lockdown, when people with dementia did less, this can lead to a decline.
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.
While prison may isolate people from the larger community, it does not isolate them from COVID-19.
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Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary