The rules dividing states and territories are likely to remain in the short term. But as time goes on and vaccination rates increase, many may stop trying to reach COVID-zero too.
National policies could improve long-term care, but major party election platforms do not address the pressing needs of seniors in care, even after the catastrophic toll of COVID-19 in care homes.
The real burden of the disease is way underestimated. Not all the labs in the country are included in the tally an only a few can conduct COVID-19 tests.
Although there is no evidence yet that it affects COVID-19 vaccines, schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease, has been associated with lower vaccine immunity for several vaccines.
Zoë McLaren, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Making rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 cheaper and more accessible can catch the infectious cases before they spread and help everyone resume normal activities safely.
Katelyn Jetelina, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
A lot has happened since the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. A portrait in data highlights trends in everything from case counts, to research publications, to variant spread.
When the coronavirus copies itself, there is a chance its RNA will mutate. But new variants must jump from one host to another, and the more infections there are, the better chance this will happen.
The Philippines has reported 34,000 deaths in the pandemic. It’s now in its fourth wave and with vaccination levels at just 14%, case numbers continue to soar.
More 9/11 responders died from physical and mental health issues after the terrorist attacks than on the day itself. And survivors are still suffering 20 years later.
Michelle J. Groome, National Institute for Communicable Diseases; Adrian Puren, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, and Harry Moultrie, National Institute for Communicable Diseases
Communities with high vaccine coverage rates are likely to see lower case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths related to COVID-19 compared to those with poor vaccine coverage.
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