WASHINGTON – Dr. Anthony Fauci says people will need to wear masks “for several, several months” to avoid the coronavirus as vaccinations are rolled out. The government’s top infectious disease expert told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday by the time 75% to 80% of the population is vaccinated, “the level of virus in the…
Author: Team Nineteen
Can people spread coronavirus even after vaccination?
There’s no evidence that any of the current Covid-19 vaccines can completely stop people from being infected – and this has implications for our prospects of achieving herd immunity. It was 17 June 2009. An 11-year-old boy returned to the US from the UK – and inadvertently brought something with him. Later that week, while…
A guide to safely holiday road-tripping through a pandemic
AS I PLAN my family’s holiday road trip in a few weeks’ time, my mind keeps turning to The Oregon Trail. Just like in the game (and the lives of actual early travelers), we’ll be traversing several Western states, dodging deadly illness, and rationing food. But if I’m honest, gamifying my thoughts has been an…
Young people’s mental health: COVID has accelerated a worrying decline
We have been following more than 2,000 Queenslanders from their adolescence into adulthood. The aim of the Our Lives study is to investigate how young people think about their future and how they master their trajectories in a world of rapid change and uncertainty. In 2006, our research team began tracking more than 7,000 students…
Why schools are not hotspots for coronavirus infections
Data gathered worldwide are increasingly suggesting that schools are not hotspots for coronavirus infections. Despite fears, COVID-19 infections did not surge when schools and day-care centres reopened after pandemic lockdowns eased. And when outbreaks do occur, they mostly result in only a small number of people becoming ill. “There’s no such thing as zero transmission…
Mortality rates are higher among most indigenous communities
The nature of coronavirus makes it an unprecedented disease for the entire human race, but its mortality rates are higher among most indigenous communities because of their adverse socioeconomic conditions, which increase their vulnerability to this new infectious agent. It was quite striking to see how this pandemic has revived memories among native societies of…
White blood cells may play a key role in the body’s reaction to Covid-19
The term “neutrophils” is little known to the general public, but in fact this family of white blood cells may play a key role in the body’s reaction to Covid-19. “Circulating neutrophils in the blood are the first cells to be recruited in the event of viral intrusion into a tissue. These cells from the…