Australians will get free access to a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 under a $1.7 billion supply and production agreement between government and pharmaceutical companies. Under the agreement, the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca and the University of Queensland-CSL will provide more than ...
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The Coronavirus Podcast: the history of pandemics
COVID-19 is not the first time that a pandemic has ravaged a society and starting with the first recorded pandemic in Athens, during the Peloponnesian War, nearly every generation has had to deal with a deadly disease. Professor Peter Curson ...
More »COVID-19 has shone a light on the ‘pandemic of human rights abuses’ that pregnant women face
Pregnant women have faced significant obstacles over the last eight months. On top of the challenges expectant mothers usually experience they have the added stress of a once-in-a-generation pandemic. Add to the mix a consistent stream of inconsistencies nationwide over ...
More »Girl refused bed before she died from flu
A toddler who had become "floppy and blue" and was rushed to a Sydney hospital was originally refused a bed by two separate nurses, an inquest has heard. Less than 24-hours after Caitlin Cruz arrived at Westmead Children's Hospital in ...
More »Albo comes out for minimum staff levels, union pushing Medicare rise to fund aged care
In a departure from the policies taken to the last federal election, Labor leader Anthony Albanese has come out in favour of minimum staffing levels in aged care. Speaking to the National Press Club, Albanese decried the state of ...
More »Oxford, Russian, homegrown: regardless of the vaccine, Australia ‘needs a distribution plan’
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) wants Australia to quickly develop a national plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccination. AMA president Dr Omar Khorshid said it was pleasing to see that efforts of the medical and scientific community to fast track a ...
More »SA nurse tests positive for COVID-19 after stint working as part of Vic aged care response
A senior nurse who recently returned from coronavirus-hit Victoria has become South Australia's latest positive case, as the state mulls a "soft border" with Queensland. The woman, among a group of nurses sent to Victoria to assist in the embattled ...
More »Aged care minister embarrassed at senate inquiry, government preparedness questioned
Senator Richard Colbeck faced intense questioning at the Senate Select Committee hearing on Australia’s response to COVID-19 on Friday, and was criticised for appearing not to know how many people in aged care have died from COVID-19 since the beginning ...
More »The Coronavirus Podcast: Why you shouldn’t kiss parrots
Over the last 8 months we have all become experts on COVID-19 and other coronaviruses, but how much do we know about other viruses that are lurking in our community. The emergence of COVID-19 is a timely reminder that diseases ...
More »Is there an alternative future for aged care?
The coronavirus has been described as a cunning and invisible enemy by virologists and politicians. They should know what it takes! As its genetic code compels it to continually reproduce to survive, the virus effectively seeks out whatever opportunity it ...
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