Poor mental health costs the Australian economy up to A$220 billion a year, according to the Productivity Commission. It will take more than piecemeal ‘announceables’ to fix the situation.
Super-spreader events typically have the ‘three Vs" in common: indoor venues, poor ventilation and vocalisation. But many buildings frequented by the public lack ventilation or the means to monitor it.
As viruses are transmitted from person to person they are constantly mutating and replicating. Could the SARS-CoV-2 virus evolve to evade the new vaccines that have just been developed?
Hoarding, stockpiling and panic buying have all increased during the pandemic.
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For-profit colleges’ heavy investment in distance learning has led to a 3% increase in enrollment during the pandemic.
Global economic support for COVID-19 relief is providing an opportunity to kick-start a shift toward a green future.
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Over US$12 trillion of COVID-19 relief has been promised. If a small portion was put toward economy-boosting green investments, the world could get on track to avoid the worst of climate change.
Moderna’s shot is far easier to store and distribute than Pfizer’s. But there are concerns neither vaccine performs particularly well for older people.
While Chief Scientist Alan Finkel’s review of contact tracing only briefly mentions digital methods, it’s crucial Australia invests in an automated system.
Exploring the unique capacities of online events, instead of trying to replicate in-person conventions, will yield the best results.
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Academics and others concerned with benefitting from peer professional collaboration can use COVID-19 disruptions as an opportunity to improve conferences through smart design.
On October 22, the French junior minister for digital transition and electronic communication, Cedric O, and the French prime minister, Jean Castex (rear) announcing the changeover of several departments to ‘maximum alert’, new curfew measures, and the new app ‘Tous Anti Covid’.
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In the current pandemic, finding the right balance between the protection of public health and respecting civil liberties has proven to be supremely difficult.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne
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