Maternity wards across the globe have noticed something strange happening during the coronavirus pandemic. Premature births were disappearing. Preterm birth is defined by the WHO as babies born alive before 37 weeks, with extremely preterm occurring before 28 weeks. In ...
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The Coronavirus Podcast episode 16: To mask or not to mask
Nearly three weeks ago, Melbourne was placed back into stage 3 lock down measures and as the COVID-19 crisis in the state worsens, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that masks, or face coverings, will now be mandatory in all public ...
More »Experts call out activewear company’s anti-virus claims
Clothing company Lorna Jane has been fined $40,000 for claiming it sold "anti-virus activewear". The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) last week issued three infringement notices totalling $39,960 to the Brisbane clothing company for alleged unlawful advertising in relation to COVID-19. ...
More »Two major drug breakthroughs could be ‘game changers’ in the fight against COVID-19
A breakthrough has been made in the race to find a coronavirus vaccine as a new drug developed by academics from the university of Oxford is shown to induce an immune response, prompting the UK government to order 100 million ...
More »The Coronavirus Podcast episode 15: Should we pursue an elimination strategy?
With the recent outbreak of COVID-19 forcing Melbourne back into lockdown for six weeks and parts of NSW on high alert, is it time to ask: were we too quick to open up again? Our neighbours New Zealand this week ...
More »Aged care residents dying at 3 times the normal rate in the UK during pandemic
Aged care residents died at three times the normal rate in the UK during the COVID-19 peak in April, according to official government statistics. On April 12, 1300 people died in care homes in comparison with 407 the previous year ...
More »The Coronavirus Podcast episode 14
This week on The Coronavirus Podcast, host Conor Burke is joined by Professor Michael Ward from the University of Sydney. Michael led a study which posits that COVID-19 may become a seasonal virus, much like the common cold or flu. ...
More »The Coronavirus Podcast – episode 13
Have you ever experienced COVID-rage? That is, anger brought on by social distancing or the lack thereof. Like when you go to the shop or a cafe and people seem to have totally forgotten about social distancing and stand right ...
More »The Coronavirus Podcast episode 12
This week host Conor Burke speaks to an infectious disease specialist. Along with virologists, epidemiologists and a few other 'ists', academics who have informed us about the specifics of the coronavirus have become the rockstars of science. Associate Professor Sanjaya ...
More »Dexamethasone: Scientific community reacts to potential COVID-19 treatment
It’s low-cost and widely available and yet dexamethasone is the drug that has researchers' tongues wagging after a UK trial showed it reduced deaths among COVID-19 patients. In trial results that scientists called a “major breakthrough”, a low dose of ...
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