Post Archive by Month

How infectious are people who test positive for Covid-19 but have no symptoms? And what is their contribution to the transmission of live virus? These questions are explored by Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Newcastle University, who’s always … Read More

Some of my friends have been asking me if they can have the Covid vaccination if they have allergies like hayfever. The ­answer is, yes, they can, despite ­concerns being raised when two healthcare workers had reactions to the jab in December. … Read More

People calling for early release from lockdown must not ­fully ­understand what we are ­dealing with. The ­coronavirus has a weapon that can always beat us – mutations and throwing up ­vaccine-resistant variants. The more people who are infected with … Read More

Here’s an interesting idea. Dr Carol Routledge, working with Imperial College London, is overseeing a first-time clinical trial which involves patients tripping on a psychedelic drug before a talk therapy session. Why? As chief scientific and medical officer at drug … Read More

The story behind the Covid-19 vaccine reads like a whodunnit involving two scientists who collaborated in a way that scientists rarely do. That collaboration resulted in the publication of the entire genetic code of coronavirus on January 10 last year, from which … Read More

It’s in the nature of viruses to mutate, some more than others. And it doesn’t matter where in the world they happen to be. We’ve already had our first mutation of Covid-19, the so-called UK (or Kent) variant. Now it’s been … Read More

A new study led by Public Health England (PHE) gives early warning that some people with existing Covid immunity can still carry high levels of the virus and could theoretically transmit it. Susan Hopkins, senior medical adviser at PHE and … Read More

Being infected with coronavirus could mean you’re immune for at least eight months. I’d agree with that – when I had my first Covid vaccination, I still had ­antibodies after 11 months. Researchers have detected many different elements of the … Read More

Could a computer game help people to understand how vaccines work and how we have to distribute them worldwide to give us the best chance of overcoming viruses such as Covid? The Vaccination Game was created by researchers at the … Read More

I wrote recently that black babies in the US seem to do less well when looked after by white doctors than by black doctors, and I suggested that unconscious ­racial bias on the part of white doctors could be to blame. Well, … Read More