COVID-19 (Page 19)

GaudiLab/Shutterstock It’s no secret that online misinformation has been a big problem throughout the pandemic. Of course, health misinformation isn’t exclusive to COVID – it’s a challenge we faced well before the pandemic, exacerbated by the global shift into the digital age. But perhaps you find yourself wondering how what you post on social media can help to combat health misinformation, and how you can share accurate health information in a way that’s going to stick. In our research during the pandemic, we’ve explored what kinds of strategies are most effective. Here are four. This article is part of Quarter Life, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning aContinue Reading

Recovery team members Mark Campbell, Guilherme Pessoa-Amorim and Leon Peto photographed at the Big Data Institute in Oxford Photograph: Adam Gasson/UKRI, CC BY-SA Guilherme – June 16, 2020. Evening TV news shows across the world were suddenly opening with the result of our research, and rightly so. Dexamethasone was the first drug to be shown to save the lives of people infected with COVID-19. To a young researcher like me, that day felt like being part of history. It was a gift from the UK to the world. Two years ago this week, the Recovery trial transformed the care of COVID patients with its dexamethasone announcement. Within four hours, the steroid was included in NHS treatment recommendations. Almost overnight, treatmentContinue Reading

Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock When we’re exposed to a pathogen such as a virus, our immune system identifies it as a foreign invader and mounts an attack. This ultimately results in the formation of antibodies which can neutralise the invading pathogen next time we encounter it. It’s a complex process. Our immune system forms B cells (that make antibodies) and specialist T cells (that either aid B cells or kill infected cells), as well as memory cells to prepare for any future attacks from the same pathogen. The pathogen which triggers this process can be introduced through natural infection or vaccination. Of course, after two-and-a-half years of COVID we know neither of these forms of immunity are foolproof. Although prior infection andContinue Reading

Losing your sense of smell can have a range of effects. Photoroyalty/Shutterstock Early in the pandemic, multiple studies showed that about half of people with COVID lost their sense of smell (called anosmia) at some point during the course of infection. Roughly an additional 20% to 35% experienced a clinical reduction in their ability to smell (hyposmia). Although more recent evidence suggests omicron might not lead to smell loss as much as earlier variants, given that more than half a billion people have had at least one of the variants to date, that’s still many millions of people who have probably experienced this condition to some degree. For most, this is only a temporary loss of function. But a sizeableContinue Reading

Pressmaster/Shutterstock During the pandemic, around 100 million people in Europe switched to working from home – nearly half of them for the first time. This shift was rapid, with employees quickly noticing the benefits of remote work. These can include freedom from commuting, more time for personal wellbeing and increased productivity. As we move on from pandemic restrictions, we’ve seen a strong, global demand for more flexible forms of working, particularly to retain an element of remote work. While some employees want to work from home permanently, most want what’s coming to be regarded as the best of both worlds: hybrid working. Only a minority of workers now want to return to the office full time. One group which mayContinue Reading

Losing your sense of smell can have a range of effects. Photoroyalty/Shutterstock Early in the pandemic, multiple studies showed that about half of people with COVID lost their sense of smell (called anosmia) at some point during the course of infection. Roughly an additional 20% to 35% experienced a clinical reduction in their ability to smell (hyposmia). Although more recent evidence suggests omicron might not lead to smell loss as much as earlier variants, given that more than half a billion people have had at least one of the variants to date, that’s still many millions of people who have probably experienced this condition to some degree. For most, this is only a temporary loss of function. But a sizeableContinue Reading

METAVERSE weddings may soon become the norm worldwide, according to experts. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, marriages were taking place on Zoom calls – but now, people are taking it a step further on the Metaverse. Metaverse Image of a UAE couple getting married in the metaverse[/caption] The term ‘metaverse’ was popularized by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg and describes a virtual world that combines social media, cryptocurrency, augmented reality, and gaming. But now, the digital platforms are also doubling as out-of-this-world wedding venues. A number of real-life couples have already tied the knot on metaverse platforms like Decentraland and Virbela. One such ceremony, which made headlines around the world, includes that of Dinesh Padmavathi and Janaganandhini Ramasamy, per Forbes.Continue Reading

COVID vaccinations are available for children aged five and up. Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Vaccine hesitancy is a complex issue. A person’s decision around whether to accept or reject a vaccine is affected by a range of factors – from political influences to cultural beliefs to prior experiences of vaccination. The decision of whether to vaccinate a child is arguably even more complicated. It’s perhaps unsurprising that COVID vaccination coverage in children is highly variable. Across the UK, the proportion of five to 11-year-olds who have received at least one dose ranges from roughly 3% in Northern Ireland to 9% in England, 13% in Wales and 20% in Scotland. Many countries have achieved higher coverage. For example, in Austria, Iceland, Portugal, SpainContinue Reading