Pitting authoritarianism against democracy has become common during the pandemic, with the former often being painted as a more effective regime type in handling COVID-19. The Chinese Communist Party’s own narrative promotes a version of this argument, equating China’s success in keeping cases and deaths low with the “superiority” ofContinue Reading
Why most people who get COVID have mild symptoms or none at all while some become severely ill is still a mystery – a mystery that scientists are urgently trying to solve. Being obese or having existing health problems, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, are known to increaseContinue Reading
Jim Barber/Shutterstock When the efficacy of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was announced in late 2020, there was some confusion. The overall efficacy of the vaccine at stopping people developing symptomatic COVID-19, two weeks after the second dose, was 70%. But this wasn’t the whole picture. This figure was based on averagingContinue Reading
After an auspicious start to the new year, the UK’s vaccine drive wavered. Since hitting an initial peak of 324,000 first doses delivered on January 15, doses delivered then fell for three straight days – only to bounce back with a new record of 343,000 on January 19. Nadhim Zahawi,Continue Reading
Tom Wang/Shutterstock England is deep into its third lockdown, yet the daily tally of new COVID cases and deaths remains sickeningly high. As Chris Whitty, the country’s chief medical officer, said recently, more needs to be done to bring the pandemic under control. Masks, which when worn correctly are highlyContinue Reading
Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock National lockdowns have been the most profound and significant public health interventions within living memory. They have been difficult socially and economically, and have negatively affected people’s health in many different ways. But for some people lockdowns have provided an unexpected opportunity to make positive changes to theirContinue Reading
The pandemic continues to pose huge challenges to health services worldwide. Hospitals are in crisis as the pace of new COVID-19 cases outstrips their capacity. What makes things particularly difficult is that the coronavirus doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. Being able to better predict which patients will getContinue Reading
COVID-19 vaccination programmes are gathering pace in high-income countries, but for much of the world, the future looks bleaker. Although a number of middle-income countries have started rolling out vaccines, widespread vaccination could still be years away. The first two COVID-19 vaccines authorised in Europe and the United States –Continue Reading
Dryvax, smallpox vaccine with bifurcated needle. James Gathany Content Providers/CDC Public Health Image Library Smallpox killed countless millions – 300 million people in the 20th century alone – before it was finally declared eradicated on May 8 1980. It was a momentous day, marking what the current director general ofContinue Reading
Schools are closed and parents face the dreaded task of homeschooling while juggling work and domestic responsibilities. Hoping to help, the BBC is airing several hours of educational programming each day throughout the lockdown for both primary and secondary school students. As someone from the baby boomer generation, born inContinue Reading
