Public health measures like lockdowns, quarantine and mandatory masks are important for managing the pandemic. But they can take a unique toll on refugees’ mental health, as our new research shows.
People stand in a queue to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Bengaluru, India.
Jagadeesh NV/EPA-EFE
The emergence of variants of concern with increased potential for transmission and more severe disease in the younger population could make Africa more susceptible to a severe COVID-19 epidemic.
When the messenger is distrusted, adherence to public health advice fails. Anti-mask protesters hold signs during a demonstration against measures taken by public health authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19 in St. Thomas, Ont., in November 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins
When politicians disregard public health directives, new research shows it causes the public to distrust governments’ handling of crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unmanaged needle fear is very distressing for those affected and can influence health-care choices. Science-backed methods can help people manage their phobia and get vaccinated.
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For the one in 10 people with a significant fear of needles, getting a vaccination is distressing. This can disrupt vaccination campaigns, but there are effective ways to manage pain and fear.
Trauma-informed care ensures that both patients and staff feel supported in their care decisions.
Owen Franken/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images
Nancy Kusmaul, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
COVID-19 hit long-term care facilities hard. Addressing the trauma that residents and staff endured is key to regaining trust in a space that may no longer feel safe.
Common sense includes an intuitive understanding of basic physics – something computers lack.
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Common sense is a broad and diverse set of abilities that help define what it means to be human. AI researchers are struggling to endow computers with it.
As troops enforce Sydney’s lockdown, two experts explain why using military rhetoric and personnel may undermine efforts to control the virus, especially among communities most vulnerable to COVID.
New Zealand has been free of COVID-19 community infection since February, but a single confirmed case in Auckland has seen the government again adopt the ‘go hard, go early’ approach.
Since late July, China has faced its biggest challenge since the first wave in Wuhan.
A man reacts as he gets a shot of the one-dose Sputnik Light vaccine at a mobile vaccination station in St. Petersburg, Russia.
(AP Photo/Elena Ignatyeva)
Coverage of Russian vaccination rollout has focused largely on concerns about ethics of development and inconsistent messaging. But Russian-language research complicates this picture.
Pre-pandemic research about courses offered online and in-person found students took online courses selectively and strategically.
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Some promoters of educational technology see COVID-19 as a ‘tech reckoning’ for professors who refused to accept progress. But before the pandemic, many students also preferred in-person classes.
In a time of COVID-19 uncertainty, adopting hybrid learning for children will only stress students and teachers further.
(Flickr/Phil Roeder)
Vaccine coverage is among the world’s best and cases have come down from their peak – but the pandemic isn’t over yet.
Not being able to hold and hug loved ones has been one of the more difficult parts of the pandemic.
Alex Chan Tsz Yuk/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Lack of human touch can lead to greater stress, anxiety and loneliness – and that is what made the social distancing during the pandemic so hard for many.
People suffering from long-term effects of COVID-19 face uncertainty about the nature of their symptoms and how long they might last.
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Palmer’s anti-lockdown ads were not breaching any laws, so the decision about whether to run them become a purely ethical one. In the end, Nine has made the right decision.
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