Health (Page 90)

England has now lifted nearly all of its coronavirus restrictions. Cases are high and rising, but the country’s vaccine coverage is among the best the world, meaning that the power of vaccines to control the virus will now be firmly put to the test. How will this battle play out? Possibly not very well, argues Zania Stamataki, senior lecturer in viral immunology at the University of Birmingham. Vaccines are effective at reducing transmission and disease, but they don’t completely prevent either among the vaccinated. Removing other control measures will definitely see infections, hospitalisations and deaths increase. Read more: July 19: Three experts share their thoughts on the end of COVID restrictions in England We also don’t yet know the durationContinue Reading

The UK has been through two large waves of COVID-19 and is currently in the middle of a third. Yet despite cases being high, both scientists and politicians are cautiously optimistic that the worst of the pandemic is behind the UK. At the same time, it needs to be recognised that the pandemic is likely not over. The UK’s second wave, last winter, was fuelled by the alpha variant of the coronavirus. The current wave, instead, is being driven by the delta variant, which is more transmissible and has some ability to get around the vaccine protection. Despite this, vaccination has meant that the dynamics of these waves have differed substantially. The most recent wave has spread primarily among theContinue Reading

Krakenimages/Shutterstock At the start of the pandemic, there was a striking sense of shared resolve and solidarity. Facing a public health crisis greater than any in living memory, people were largely united in their support of difficult measures to protect the vulnerable, safeguard the health system and sustain key workers. There were, of course, differences of opinion. For example, some disagreed about the severity of the threat posed by COVID, about the wisdom of different national approaches to lockdown, about the timing of restrictions, and the effectiveness face masks. More recently, there has also been disagreement on how vaccines should be distributed, whether vaccine passports are a good idea, and whether vaccination should be mandatory for certain occupations. Throughout theContinue Reading

Faber14/Shutterstock Most people in the UK plan to keep wearing masks on public transport or in crowded indoor areas to avoid spreading COVID-19. However, when mask mandates lift – as they have done largely across England – some people say they will no longer wear one if they don’t have to. Everyone in a crowded indoor area should wear a mask if they can. It’s something we do for others: it reduces the chance of causing serious harm by giving somebody the coronavirus, which you might be inadvertently carrying despite not having symptoms. Put simply, you need to wear your mask to protect me, and I need to wear my mask to protect you. But mask wearing is also somethingContinue Reading

Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock Close to 40 million people in the UK have had two COVID vaccine doses. This gives Britain one of the highest rates of coverage in the world, with nearly 60% of the population fully vaccinated. And with vaccines soon to be rolled out to 16- and 17-year-olds, this is going to increase further still. Expanding vaccination into younger age groups has an array of benefits, says Alex Richter, professor and honorary consultant in clinical immunology at the University of Birmingham. Although severe disease is rare in young people, long COVID is a problem, and allowing the virus to move unchecked through young people disrupts their and their loved ones’ lives. Vaccinating younger people also lessens the riskContinue Reading

Prostock-studio/Shutterstock Earlier in the pandemic, it appeared that the majority of people infected with the coronavirus experienced mild-to-moderate symptoms and generally recovered within two to three weeks, depending on the severity of their illness. However, as time has passed, it’s become clear that some people, regardless of the severity of their disease, continue to experience symptoms beyond the acute phase of infection. This has become known as “long COVID”. Emerging evidence suggests that these patients experience a range of persistent symptoms and health complications. These may have a significant impact on their quality of life, physical and mental health, and ability to return to work. But understanding long COVID is difficult. Its reported symptoms are highly varied, making it difficultContinue Reading