COVID & Travel

Should I still go on holiday if I have COVID?

— Given most countries have stopped requiring negative COVID tests to enter, can you just go? An ethicist weighs in.

COVID-19

Stronger democracies have seen fewer excess deaths during COVID.

— The way societies are governed seems to have influenced how they’ve fared in terms of excess deaths during the pandemic. For pandemic preparedness, the public must be able to trust authorities and institutions.

Long COVID

Long COVID: Female sex, older age and existing health problems increase risk – new research.

— A new study has analysed UK data from long-term health surveys and electronic health records to understand how common long COVID is, and who might be at higher risk.

Analysis

We shouldn’t be complacent to the potential threat of this, or subsequent COVID waves.

— Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are behind an increasing wave of infections in the UK. The wall of immunity put up by vaccinations and previous infections is not as strong as it once was. So, what happens next?

Public Health

Avian flu has jumped from chickens to wild birds and is spreading fast.

— The avian flu outbreak serves as another reminder of how connected we are to nature, and how our interactions with the natural world have huge consequences on us all.

COVID-19

Vaccination could reduce Long COVID symptoms, new research suggests.

— A study of more than 28,000 UK adults has found that vaccination after having COVID is linked to a decrease in long COVID symptoms.

What The Experts Say

Monkeypox – We need to understand more about the transmission dynamics.

— The views of experts and health professionals on the monkeypox outbreak.

COVID-19

Haven’t had COVID yet? It could be more than just luck.

— Even taking into account people who have had COVID but didn’t know it, there’s still likely to be a group of people who have never been infected.

Testimony

Long COVID in children is real and serious. There are treatments available... just not in the UK.

— My daughter Jasmin has had long COVID for the past 16 months. I tried for over 6 months to get her research bloods done in the UK. Hitting brick walls, in desperation I took her to Germany in February.

COVID-19

Severe COVID is equivalent to 20 years of ageing.

— A new study finds that the cognitive loss from severe COVID is the same as losing 10 IQ points.

Environment

A fracking review suggests the UK has softened the precautionary principle since leaving the EU.

— Despite banning fracking in 2019, the UK government’s decision to soften the fracking moratorium could pave the way for regulatory decisions which prioritise potential financial benefits over the risks to the environment and public health.

Testimony

COVID in children is not mild.

— Kim Wareham’s daughter is 10. After successfully protecting her against the virus for two years, omicron finally got her. Through her testimony, she wants people to know what her suffering has been like and that COVID-19 for children is not mild.

Health

People who’ve had COVID appear more likely to develop diabetes.

— A number of recent studies indicate people who have had COVID are more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes.

COVID-19

Omicron XE is spreading in the UK – A virologist explains what we know about this hybrid variant.

— More than 1,000 cases of omicron XE have been detected in the UK so far. But we shouldn’t be seriously concerned at this stage.

Health

Salmonella cases linked to Kinder products.

— An ongoing outbreak of Salmonella linked to Kinder products produced by the company Ferrero results in 67 cases of which a majority are in small children.

COVID-19

Should we worry about the XE variant? Maybe not yet, but ‘hybrids’ will become more frequent as COVID evolves.

— Our best chance of limiting the emergence of new recombinant COVID variants is to limit the spread of infections, using public health measures to slow and suppress the virus.