Tag Archives: Covid-19

insta_photos/Shutterstock Kathryn Buchanan, University of Essex; Gillian Sandstrom, University of Essex; Lara Aknin, Simon Fraser University, and Shaaba Lotun, University of Essex Picture this: it’s April 2020, you’re between Zoom meetings, and scrolling through your social media newsfeed. Headlines like “Death toll continues to rise”, “COVID-19 may cause long-term health implications” and “Health-care systems overwhelmed” flash across your screen. Your …

Antibodies (light blue) binding to the spike proteins (dark purple) on the outside of the coronavirus. Design_Cells/Shutterstock Rebecca Aicheler, Cardiff Metropolitan University A new treatment could soon help protect people from developing severe COVID. AstraZeneca has just released results from a phase 3 clinical trial – the final stage of testing before a drug is authorised – that suggest its …

The new findings, although preliminary, are raising concerns about the potential long-term effects of COVID-19. Yuichiro Chino via Getty Images Jessica Bernard, Texas A&M University With more than 18 months of the pandemic in the rearview mirror, researchers have been steadily gathering new and important insights into the effects of COVID-19 on the body and brain. These findings are raising …

Helen Stalford, University of Liverpool; Aoife Daly, University College Cork, and Kerry Barry, University of Liverpool The UK has become the latest country to offer COVID-19 vaccines to all children aged 12 to 15, following many others including France, Germany, the US, Canada and Japan. The UK government has said that parental consent will be sought for vaccinations, but that …

Subbotina Anna/Shutterstock Paul Hunter, University of East Anglia Although COVID infections are currently low or in decline in most western countries aside from the UK, there’s still a long way to go before the threat of the pandemic is over. A big concern this winter is if there’s a resurgence of COVID with other respiratory illnesses coming back strongly alongside …

Shutterstock Catherine Kyobutungi, African Population and Health Research Center There has been a lot of focus on COVID-19 vaccine inequalities between high-income and low- and middle-income countries. For instance, it is estimated that up to 70% of all vaccines to be produced in 2021 were pre-booked by a handful of countries. This has caused severe bottlenecks in vaccine supply to …

Basilico Studio Stock/Shutterstock Christian Yates, University of Bath In the UK over the last few weeks, there have been a growing number of reports of people testing positive for COVID on a lateral flow test (LFT) but then negative on a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. This stands out because we’ve been led to believe that PCR tests are the …

Colin Angus, University of Sheffield COVID restrictions in England were lifted on July 19, and although COVID cases are currently soaring in schoolchildren and their parents’ age group, many feel that the worst of the pandemic is now over. Thanks to the tremendous effectiveness of COVID vaccines, further lockdowns seem unlikely. However, a look at recent mortality data reveals that …

NiarKrad/Shutterstock Sarah Schiffling, Liverpool John Moores University and Chris Phelan, Edge Hill University Nearly half the world’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. But figures vary widely between countries. Many low and middle-income countries have barely started their vaccination campaigns. But the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan isn’t one of them. By the end of …

What type of mask is best? Brais Seara/Moment via Getty Images Laura (Layla) H. Kwong, University of California, Berkeley Do masks work? And if so, should you reach for an N95, a surgical mask, a cloth mask or a gaiter? Over the past year and a half, researchers have produced a lot of laboratory, model-based and observational evidence on the …