COVID-19 and Aussie kids: What will the next few months look like?

Safety data for the Pfizer vaccine in the 5–11 age cohort is beginning to roll in, with a paper published in NEJM this week reporting no serious side effects in a group of 1,500 children given two shots of the vaccine at a significantly lower dosage than adults currently receive. The researchers said the vaccine …Continue readingCOVID-19 and Aussie kids: What will the next few months look like?

Good news for travellers: TGA recognises two more vaccines

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has “recognised” a further two COVID-19 vaccines: Covaxin, made by Indian company Bharat Biotech, and BBIBP-CorV, which is made by Chinese company Sinopharm. While there aren’t any deals to roll these vaccines out in Australia, this recognition means that people who have received these vaccines overseas will be considered fully vaccinated, …Continue readingGood news for travellers: TGA recognises two more vaccines

COVID Frontline: breakthrough infection ends with a whimper

When I first told my work colleagues of my COVID positive, our Editor-in-Chief thought one thing: diary! I duly penned my first instalment, where things were going so well I wondered if I’d have much to say, and my second instalment, when things took a slight turn for the worse. As I now wrap things …Continue readingCOVID Frontline: breakthrough infection ends with a whimper

A letter to my vaccine-hesitant friends

A few weeks ago, I discovered that some of my friends – you know who you are – weren’t planning to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Some of you said you lacked trust in the evidence provided for the safety of vaccines. On the other hand, you were confident about alternative therapies, mostly Ivermectin. I’ll admit to …Continue readingA letter to my vaccine-hesitant friends

The rollout: The danger of vaccines vs the danger of COVID

AstraZeneca at large January 2021 witnessed the first national rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK. The good news was that it was 89% effective at protecting people from symptomatic disease. The bad news was an unusual blood clotting syndrome that started surfacing in March 2021. Blood clots are not uncommon – they occur …Continue readingThe rollout: The danger of vaccines vs the danger of COVID

Are COVID-19 vaccines experimental?

Are COVID-19 vaccines experimental? Yes – to the extent that any vaccine against a new strain of virus raises new safety issues. Some people claim that the testing of the vaccines was rushed. That’s not true. The record time was achieved because the technologies for making the vaccines were quick to deploy, the three phases …Continue readingAre COVID-19 vaccines experimental?

COVID Booster: More variants, gut instinct, and pounding the pavement during lockdown

研究显示大突破感染是更少的年代evere A UK study of over a million participants has found that people who have been vaccinated are significantly less likely to get symptomatic COVID-19, and less likely again for it to be severe. The study examined data from 1,240,009 people who’d had at least one dose of …Continue readingCOVID Booster: More variants, gut instinct, and pounding the pavement during lockdown

The COVID Vaccination Cookbook

If you don’t want vaccines inside your body, it might be time to take a closer look at what you’re eating – and also learn more about cholesterol and salt. We analyse what’s actually in the doses, and discover the ingredients are more familiar than you expect. It began, as many things do, with a …Continue readingThe COVID Vaccination Cookbook

First vaccine-linked death recorded in New Zealand. What does this mean?

The first probable COVID-19 vaccine-linked death has been recorded in Aotearoa New Zealand, following an incident of myocarditis in a woman of undisclosed age who had recently received a Pfizer vaccine. The information was released by the health ministry after a COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring board recorded the death. Myocarditis – an inflammation of the …Continue readingFirst vaccine-linked death recorded in New Zealand. What does this mean?

A brief history of vaccines

It began, as many things do, with a need, a curiosity, and an intriguing story. In the 18th century, smallpox was a global scourge. About a third of those who caught the disease died; survivors were left scarred, sometimes disfigured. From uncertain origins, smallpox had spread across the world through human movement – for trade, …Continue readingA brief history of vaccines

South Australian mRNA vaccines?

Last month, the federal government closed applications for a critical approach to market process: it was looking for biotech firms that want to make messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines in Australia. The successful bidder is likely to be announced by the end of August. One of the bids was entered by BioCina, which – if the …Continue readingSouth Australian mRNA vaccines?

Explainer: Moderna COVID vaccine approved in Australia

The COVID-19 vaccine made by American company Moderna has been given provisional approval in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The Federal government has ordered 25 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, 10 million of which will arrive in 2021, beginning next month. The other 15 million will arrive in the first half of 2022. …Continue readingExplainer: Moderna COVID vaccine approved in Australia