News Articles
When will this COVID wave be over? 4 numbers to keep an eye on and why
Last Updated: 17-01-2022
Before Australia’s recent changes to COVID testing, working out when we reached the peak of cases was, in principal, straightforward. We looked at the numbers of new daily cases, diagnosed via PCR. From there, we worked out a range of Read More...
Qld has 19,709 new virus cases, six deaths
Date of Posting: 16-01-2022
Queensland has recorded another 19,709 virus cases and six deaths, including one person in their 20s who had underlying health concerns. The state also had an almost 10 per cent spike in the number of people in hospital with COVID-19.[subscribe] Read More...
Cancer screening gets $10m funding boost
Date of Posting: 16-01-2022
Australia's participation in breast, bowel, and cervical cancer screening programs is to receive a funding boost. Health Minister Greg Hunt says $10 million will be set aside for research to identify new and innovative approaches.[subscribe] Read More...
Virus causes disability staffing shortages
Date of Posting: 16-01-2022
Disability service workers urgently need more support from state and federal governments as COVID-19 has caused severe staffing shortages, according to union officials and the industry's peak body. National Disability Services chief Laurie Lei Read More...
Nurses demand clarity over WA border plan
Date of Posting: 15-01-2022
Western Australia's government is under pressure to reveal critical information about the state's planned border reopening amid calls to delay the transition. With just over three weeks to go until the February 5 reopening, the government Read More...
Immune profile discovered for long COVID
Date of Posting: 15-01-2022
Symptoms of long COVID have been found to last at least eight months following infection after a new study identified its immune profile to help tailor treatment. Samples taken from unvaccinated people during Australia's first COVID-19 outbrea Read More...
Research to target heart disease, diabetes
Date of Posting: 15-01-2022
Two new medical research centres will be established via $20 million in federal government funding. Cardiovascular disease and diabetes will both be targeted, with $10 million funding allocated to each for new research centres.[subscribe] The m Read More...
South Korea to use Pfizer COVID-19 pills
Date of Posting: 14-01-2022
South Korea will begin treating coronavirus patients with Pfizer's antiviral pills, health officials say, as concern mounts over the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant. At least 21,000 of the pills, called Paxlovid, arrived on Thu Read More...
Qld Ambulance Service probes woman's death
Date of Posting: 14-01-2022
The Liberal National Party has described the death of a Townsville woman reportedly left waiting more than two hours for an ambulance as "absolutely shocking". The Queensland Ambulance Service is investigating the incident, in which para Read More...
Qld suffers deadliest day of pandemic
Date of Posting: 14-01-2022
Queensland has suffered its deadliest day of the pandemic as the state prepares to scrap all domestic border controls. Six people died from COVID-19 and 14,914 new virus cases were recorded after 33,849 tests in the 24 hours to 6.30am on Thursday. Read More...
5 ways to take your health career overseas
Last Updated: 14-01-2022
Whether you're a trained GP, a nurse, a health policy specialist, a pharmaceutical developer, or anywhere in between, your skills can take you anywhere. Qualified healthcare professionals of all stripes are in huge demand everywhere in the wor Read More...
Unknown source among new WA virus cases
Date of Posting: 13-01-2022
Western Australia may have undetected community COVID-19 transmission after a woman contracted the virus from an unknown source. Authorities are investigating where the woman may have been exposed to the virus and genomic sequencing is underway to Read More...
Isolation change set for transport workers
Date of Posting: 13-01-2022
Transport and logistics workers will be prioritised for less stringent isolation requirements from COVID-19, as the government looks to solve widespread supply-chain issues caused by increasing case numbers. Following talks with industry groups on Read More...
School 'safer than remaining in community'
Date of Posting: 13-01-2022
Schools may be safer for children than remaining in the community, one infectious diseases physician says as he predicts a peak of Omicron COVID-19 cases in coming weeks. Principles for opening and keeping schools open were finalised by federal, s Read More...
Tasmania reports 1583 new COVID-19 cases
Date of Posting: 12-01-2022
Tasmania has recorded 1583 new COVID-19 cases, the island state's second-highest daily figure since reopening borders one month ago. Eight people are being treated in hospital, an increase of one from Tuesday's figure. None are in intensiv Read More...
NSW festivals dealt 'devastating blow'
Date of Posting: 12-01-2022
The NSW entertainment industry is reeling from new COVID-19 restrictions as the state waits for a way to register the results of rapid tests. The state recorded another 25,870 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, but with testing numbers the lowest they Read More...
Too soon to treat COVID-19 like flu
Date of Posting: 12-01-2022
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is on track to infect more than half of Europeans but it should not yet be seen as a flu-like endemic illness, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says. The continent registered more than seven million newly-reporte Read More...
Doctors set for Victorian school vax drive
Date of Posting: 11-01-2022
Doctors and pharmacists will be brought into Victorian primary schools in a COVID-19 vaccination blitz for children aged five to 11, as hospitalisations reach an all-time high. Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday announced a $4 million grants progra Read More...
Telehealth program for knee osteoarthritis proves effective
Date of Posting: 11-01-2022
An Australian study has shown that telehealth-delivered diet and physiotherapy programs help people cope with knee osteoarthritis, possibly reducing need for surgery. Osteoarthritis is a common and painful condition that affects more than 2.2 mill Read More...
Physiotherapy key to national preventive health framework
Last Updated: 11-01-2022
The National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2030 has outlined critical targets to drive new investment in health prevention, and improve inequalities through a greater focus on primary health care and physical activity – and physiotherapy form Read More...
Aged care unprepared for Omicron
Date of Posting: 11-01-2022
More than four in five aged care workers believe their facility was not prepared for the Omicron variant and a "let it rip" approach to COVID-19. A new survey of 1000 aged care workers conducted by the Health Services Union found staff w Read More...
Australia passes one million COVID cases
Date of Posting: 11-01-2022
Australia has passed the major milestone of more than one million COVID-19 cases nearly two years to the day since the first case was reported in the country. More than a quarter of Australia's total cases were recorded in the last four days, Read More...
Wearable resistance: how to get stronger by simply moving, with a little help from small weights
Last Updated: 11-01-2022
It’s the time of year to make resolutions to improve fitness and strength, but this may not require a gym membership or even hard work. Strength training can be effective with small weights, provided by household items like a sm Read More...
The promise of repairing bones and tendons with human-made materials
Last Updated: 11-01-2022
Brittany Taylor is a biomedical engineer and assistant professor who studies novel ways to improve bone and tendon healing after injuries. She is exploring drug delivery systems and temporary artificial tissue replacements to promote healing Read More...
Can we unlearn pain? Helping make sense of chronic pain
Date of Posting: 11-01-2022
Outwit, outplay, outlast. Just like the motto on television show Survivor, a three-pronged approach to learning about pain could improve the lives of people experiencing chronic pain, according to new research from the University of South Australia. Read More...
PM confident of child vaccine rollout
Date of Posting: 10-01-2022
Scott Morrison is confident the vaccine rollout covering young children is being managed well and doses are widely accessible. Three million vaccines are being distributed before the start of the school year as 2.3 million children aged five to 11 Read More...
Latest on worldwide spread of coronavirus
Date of Posting: 10-01-2022
LONDON, RAW - EUROPE * Britain reported 141,472 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, down from 146,390 cases on Saturday, while the number of new deaths reported fell to 97 from 313, official figures showed. Britain has seen a surge of cases linked to Read More...
Thousands of Vic PCR test results dumped
Date of Posting: 10-01-2022
Thousands of Victorians who queued to take PCR tests over Christmas and the New Year will not receive their results because the samples are too old to be processed, as authorities scramble to improve virus figure accuracy. The state posted 44,155 Read More...
Rare disease research gets extra funding
Date of Posting: 09-01-2022
The Morrison government is providing $63.4 million in funding for research into some some of the world's rarest forms of cancer and disease. The funding is provided through 27 grants under the 2021 Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need pr Read More...
Tens of thousands in German COVID protests
Date of Posting: 09-01-2022
Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated across Germany in the latest protests against policies to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The largest event on Saturday was held in Hamburg, where some 13,700 people attended, according to police.[su Read More...
More middle-aged deaths from COVID in NSW
Date of Posting: 09-01-2022
More people aged in their 50s have died of COVID-19 in NSW, as a former prime minister joins the group of 250,000 residents currently isolating with the virus. The state reported another 45,098 cases on Saturday, including 32,000 in Sydney health Read More...
US hospital rate up in unvaxxed young kids
Date of Posting: 08-01-2022
Hospitalisations of US children under five with COVID-19 soared in recent weeks to their highest level since the pandemic began, according to government data on the only age group not yet eligible for the vaccine. The worrisome trend in children t Read More...
Omicron dents euro zone's economic rebound
Date of Posting: 08-01-2022
Euro zone economic sentiment dropped more than expected last month while inflation hit another record high, indicating the economy is under renewed stress as surging coronavirus infections force governments to tighten restrictions. With infections Read More...
NSW forges ahead with school return plan
Date of Posting: 08-01-2022
NSW is forging ahead with its plan to return children to classrooms for the start of term one, before primary school aged students can be fully vaccinated amid the escalating COVID-19 outbreak. Students, teachers and parents are hoping to leave be Read More...
More than 400 virus outbreaks in aged care
Date of Posting: 07-01-2022
Aged care staff are worried they will infect residents with COVID-19 amid rising case numbers as the sector manages hundreds of outbreaks nationwide. As of January 5 there were 411 active outbreaks in aged care facilities across Australia, accordi Read More...
UK reports human case of avian flu
Date of Posting: 07-01-2022
The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says there has been a confirmed human case of avian flu in southwest England, adding that the person had been in close contact with infected birds and there was no evidence of onward transmission. Read More...
New Vic rules for COVID-positive RAT tests
Date of Posting: 07-01-2022
Positive rapid COVID-19 tests will be counted as "probable" cases in Victoria and anyone who returns one will have to isolate for seven days and notify contacts. The new category of positive cases will be introduced from Friday, imposing Read More...
Bird flu 'higher risk of spread to humans'
Date of Posting: 06-01-2022
A wave of bird flu in Asia and Europe has a greater risk of spreading to humans because of a high number of variants, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) says. The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, h Read More...
Date of Posting: 06-01-2022
India has not added Merck's COVID-19 pill to its treatment protocol for the disease due to known safety concerns that have restricted its use elsewhere, a senior health official has told a media briefing. "We have to remember that this dr Read More...
Vic slashes surgery over hospital pressure
Date of Posting: 06-01-2022
Victoria is slashing elective surgery in hospitals across the state in response to rising numbers of patients with COVID-19. Non-urgent surgery will be reduced in public and private hospitals from Thursday as the health system comes under extreme Read More...
