As COVID finds its equilibrium, infection rates will rise and fall, influenced by seasons, school holidays and new subvariants. Managing the risk is complex and needs to be cost effective.
Public health officials monitor sewage in local communities to track COVID, polio, flu and more. But no one asks the people being monitored for their permission – raising some questions and concerns.
Examining how COVID-19 lockdowns and stay-at-home orders were implemented in Toronto, Johannesburg and Chicago reveals the impact they had on vulnerable communities.
While COVID has become less deadly, it has disproportionately claimed the lives of older and poorer Australians. Others have missed out on necessary preventative care during the pandemic.
To help people make informed decisions about ongoing COVID-19 risks, public health messaging needs to adapt as the pandemic evolves, just as immune systems adapt to new viruses and variants.
We modelled the impact small reductions in transmission would have on COVID deaths. We found a 20% drop could save the lives of 500 Victorians this year, or 2,000 people nationally.
Instead of minimizing current or future waves of COVID-19, we need strategies to deal with new variants efficiently. Only then can we live with the virus in a healthy way.
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.
Masks not only reduce your chance of getting COVID, they might stop you unknowingly transmitting the virus to colleagues, people in vulnerable groups or children who are yet to be vaccinated.
The court appears split over the future of vaccination mandates, with conservative justices skeptical of the Biden administration’s authority to enforce requirements.
In Africa, it’s more rational to prioritise vaccine access, rapid rollout and community engagement, than pushing the narrative of vaccine-induced population immunity.
Different groups of researchers give different predictions. And it’s easy to be bewildered, especially if you’re in lockdown and looking for answers. Here’s what to make of it all.
If we open up the international borders before enough of the population is vaccinated, hospitals could become overwhelmed and deaths would be unacceptably high.
Schools are not driving the COVID-19 pandemic and can safely remain open provided people stick to the non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 prevention.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne