News Articles
Calls grow for faster booster jab rollout
Date of Posting: 23-12-2021
New daily COVID-19 infections have again skyrocketed across Australia's two most populous states as calls grow for booster shots to be sped up. Additional federal payments to GPs and pharmacies of $10 per booster jab will be provided to bolste Read More...
US authorises Pfizer oral COVID treatment
Date of Posting: 23-12-2021
The United States has authorised Pfizer Inc's antiviral COVID-19 pill for at-risk people aged 12 and above, making it the first oral treatment and which can be taken at home, providing a potentially important tool in the fight against the fast-sp Read More...
SA to move on tests as COVID-19 cases rise
Date of Posting: 22-12-2021
South Australia is set to approve the widespread rollout of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests as daily case numbers continue at record levels. The tests are currently used in certain sectors including health and mining, but calls have been growing for Read More...
WHO warns of Omicron 'storm coming'
Last Updated: 22-12-2021
The World Health Organization's European head has warned countries to brace for a "significant surge" in COVID-19 cases as Omicron spreads, and advised the widespread use of boosters for protection. Since it emerged in late November, Read More...
Mutating kidney gene linked to disease
Date of Posting: 22-12-2021
Australian scientists have found a gene in the human body that mutates in some people and accelerates kidney disease. Kidney disease impacts 1.7 million Australians each year, according to Kidney Health Australia.[subscribe] The discovery is ex Read More...
ACT Omicron rise triggers return of masks
Date of Posting: 21-12-2021
Masks will again be mandatory indoors in the ACT as it tightens COVID-19 restrictions due to an increase in Omicron infections. From Wednesday, masks will be required across indoor retail and hospitality venues as well as aged care, workplaces and Read More...
Aust-first women mental health beds in Vic
Date of Posting: 21-12-2021
Dozens of mental health beds specifically for women will be made available in Victoria, in an Australian first. Acting Premier James Merlino announced the $100 million initiative on Tuesday, saying it would support more than 750 Victorian women wi Read More...
Moderna booster protects against Omicron
Date of Posting: 21-12-2021
Moderna says a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine appears to protect against the fast-spreading Omicron variant in laboratory tests and the current version of the vaccine will continue to be Moderna's "first line of defence against Omicron Read More...
Space study to aid longer, healthier lives
Date of Posting: 20-12-2021
Tiny human muscle cells will be blasted into space in an experiment which could help people live longer, healthier lives. The experiment, called MicroAge, is set to be launched to the International Space Station on Tuesday.[subscribe] Space wil Read More...
Vic child disability car restraints tested
Date of Posting: 20-12-2021
Victoria is crash testing vehicle restraints made for children with disabilities and medical conditions. In a world-first program launched on Monday, nine specialised child restraints imported and sold in Australia will soon undergo frontal and si Read More...
Omicron 'less effective attacking lungs'
Date of Posting: 20-12-2021
UK research has found Omicron might be less efficient at attacking the lungs than earlier COVID-19 variants. The Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease study concluded mutations on the virus's spike protein, which Read More...
Five tips for starting your own allied health practice
Date of Posting: 20-12-2021
If you’ve just been certified and ready to ply your trade to as many people as possible, you’ve probably tinkered with the idea of opening your own allied health practice. Though it can be a challenge, especially if you’re more o Read More...
Quality of life must be a key measure for HIV treatment
Date of Posting: 19-12-2021
Advocates and doctors alike have called for quality of life to be a key measure in determining the success of treatment for people with HIV. Sarah Feagan, Vice President of the National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA) said that w Read More...
NSW residents rush to get booster shots
Date of Posting: 19-12-2021
NSW residents are rushing to get their booster shots as COVID-19 infections continue their surge. Premier Dominic Perrottet says there's no need to reimpose restrictions in the face of record case numbers.[subscribe] "It's a time f Read More...
Victoria has 1240 COVID cases, four deaths
Last Updated: 19-12-2021
The number of Victorian COVID-19 patients in intensive care remains stable despite the state adding 1240 new infections to its caseload. As a result of the continuing high infection rate face masks are here to stay but any return to restrictions o Read More...
Vic finds $41m for mental health job boost
Date of Posting: 19-12-2021
Victoria will spend $41 million to boost its mental healthcare workforce by more than 350 positions as part of a major upgrade for the sector. The "once-in-a-generation" deployment is a key recommendation of the state's mental health Read More...
4 things you should look for when picking a surgeon for your rhinoplasty
Last Updated: 19-12-2021
Rhinoplasties are very serious procedures and mistakes there could be disastrous. You could end up with severe complications or with bad results.[subscribe] You might have to deal with the consequences of a bad nose job for the rest of your lif Read More...
Ebola outbreak in DR Congo declared over
Date of Posting: 18-12-2021
The second outbreak of the Ebola disease this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo has officially been declared over, according to the World Health Organisation. The eastern province of North Kivu, where the first case was reported on October Read More...
Thunderstorm asthma warning for Vic areas
Date of Posting: 18-12-2021
An epidemic thunderstorm asthma warning has been issued for large swathes of Victoria, with hot weather set to give way to wild winds. Victoria's Department of Health has forecast a "high risk" for epidemic thunderstorm asthma across Read More...
WHO approves Novavax jab for emergency use
Date of Posting: 18-12-2021
The World Health Organisation has given emergency approval to a coronavirus vaccine made by US-based Novavax and the Serum Institute of India, paving the way for its inclusion in the program to get such vaccines to poorer countries around the world. Read More...
Vaccines may be weaker against Omicron
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
Preliminary evidence indicates COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against infection and transmission linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant, which also carries a higher risk of reinfection, the World Health Organisation says. The WHO, in i Read More...
Latest on worldwide spread of coronavirus
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
EUROPE * England's chief medical officer warned people not to mix with others unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas after Britain recorded its most daily cases since the start of the pandemic.[subscribe] * French President Emmanuel Read More...
Aussie push to fight blindness globally
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
Millions of people suffering from blindness and eye disease around the world could benefit from a new research collaboration between Australian universities and research institutions. The new consortium BIENCO will develop bioengineered eye tissue Read More...
Delta still 99 per cent of cases
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
The Delta variant of the coronavirus is still predominant in Italy, the National Health Institute or ISS says, releasing data of a flash-survey showing it accounted for more than 99 per cent of cases on December 6. By contrast the new Omicron vari Read More...
How worried should we be about Omicron?
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
IS IT MORE CONTAGIOUS? The fast-spreading Delta variant remains dominant worldwide, and it is unclear whether Omicron is inherently more contagious than its predecessor, the World Health Organization said on Sunday.[subscribe] Early data sugges Read More...
New SA centre to advance aged care
Date of Posting: 16-12-2021
A $34 million centre to help transform the way Australia supports its ageing community has been established at Adelaide's Flinders University with a key advocacy group calling it much-needed "shot in the arm". The project is being ba Read More...
NSW 'could see 25,000 cases a day by Jan'
Last Updated: 15-12-2021
NSW could see 25,000 COVID-19 cases a day by the end of next month, Health Minister Brad Hazzard has warned, after a dramatic escalation in the number of new infections. Some 1360 new cases were detected in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, an incre Read More...
Study shows Pfizer counters Omicron
Date of Posting: 15-12-2021
Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appear to have given 70 per cent protection against hospitalisation in South Africa in recent weeks, a major real-world study on the potential impact of Omicron shows. The country is battling a s Read More...
After-hours work comms causing stress
Date of Posting: 15-12-2021
Checking work emails or responding to texts or calls during holidays or after hours could lead to burnout, psychological distress and poor physical health, new research has found. The University of South Australia surveyed 2200 academics and profe Read More...
Rural and remote mental health recommendations supported by peak body
Date of Posting: 14-12-2021
COVID-19 has impacted the mental health of all Australians, but perhaps none more so that those living in remote and rural areas of Australia, where access to mental health services is limited. The House Select Committee on Mental Health and Suici Read More...
Australia mRNA vaccine capacity steps up
Date of Posting: 14-12-2021
Victorian scientists are hoping to fine-tune Australia's first mRNA vaccine by the first quarter of 2022. Researchers at Monash University developed the vaccine during a five-month period and phase one clinical trials are due to begin in Janua Read More...
Trial gives pre-term babies better start
Date of Posting: 14-12-2021
Clementine and Felix Widdup were born 13 weeks early weighing less than a kilogram, after their mother Georgia got the pregnancy complication preeclampsia. "They were in hospital for three months, the babies were pretty sick for a pretty long Read More...
Emergency department patient numbers rise
Date of Posting: 14-12-2021
Public hospitals are seeing pre-pandemic levels of emergency department presentations, but how long patients have to wait depends on where they live. A report on emergency department care found there were 8.8 million presentations to public hospit Read More...
Review into the use of 'surgeon' title
Last Updated: 13-12-2021
A review into who can call themselves a surgeon has been launched by state and federal governments. Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley on Monday announced public consultation on the use of the titles "cosmetic surgeon" and "surg Read More...
Date of Posting: 13-12-2021
Britain faces a "tidal wave" of infections from the Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says, with a huge increase in booster vaccinations needed to strengthen defences against it. In a televised statement on Sunday Read More...
Telehealth appointments made permanent
Date of Posting: 13-12-2021
Virtual medical appointments will become a permanent feature of Australia's health system as part of a $308.6 million spend. Of that, $106 million will be spent over four years to entrench what was a temporary measure brought in to deal with t Read More...
Victoria adds 1069 COVID cases, two deaths
Date of Posting: 12-12-2021
Victoria has recorded 1069 new COVID-19 infections and a further two deaths, as access to booster vaccines has been reduced by a month. It is the seventh consecutive day Victoria has recorded more than 1000 virus cases.[subscribe] The new cases Read More...
Omicron means booster shot more important
Date of Posting: 12-12-2021
Health secretary Brendan Murphy says the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus makes getting a booster vaccination more important. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has given approval to the Moderna vaccine as a Read More...
Australia leading stroke recovery research
Date of Posting: 12-12-2021
More than 445,000 Australians are currently living with the effects of a stroke while an estimated one in four people will suffer one during their lifetime. Rehabilitation has traditionally focused on physical recovery and speech therapy, not so m Read More...
Most US Omicron cases hit jabbed
Date of Posting: 11-12-2021
Most of the 43 COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant identified in the United States were in people who were fully vaccinated and a third of them had received a booster dose, a US report says. The US Centers for Disease Control and Preventi Read More...
