Less than two months ago, Taiwan was thriving. With fewer than 1000 cases in total over 12 months, their world-class quarantine and tracing measures were allowing them to enjoy life with very few restrictions. Now, they are in lockdown. A pilot tested positive for COVID-19 on April 20, leading to over 333 cases as of yesterday. Similar stories have arisen in Japan, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea with 2 key similarities: successful containment of the virus, followed by a complacent and sluggish vaccine rollout.
As of the 17th of May, people aged 50 and over are now eligible to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from selected GPs, respiratory clinics and mass vaccination hubs. Here’s what you need to know:
Sleep is a basic human necessity, despite how often we push it to the side. Study after study has shown that our sleep is intrinsically linked to our overall health – here’s 5 ways your sleep habits could be affecting your health.
A new report in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine has revealed the astounding impact of sleep disorders on the U.S. Health care system. Sleep problems cost the system close to $95 billion a year, and increase health care costs by 60%. Researcher Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya says, “Our estimates are likely low, considering we know there are a large number of patients not yet diagnosed with a disorder like sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and insomnia.”
The Australian government has secured 25 million Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses, with 10 million to be delivered this year. The Moderna vaccine is a 2 dose, mRNA vaccine that has been shown to be 94.1% effective at preventing COVID-19 in clinical trials. Here’s what you need to know:
A new University of NSW study has found that viral misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines is spreading extremely quickly on online platforms. The research team reviewed over 600 pieces of misinformation, written in 24 different languages, originating from over 50 countries, which over 100 million people shared, liked, re-tweeted or reacted to. 17 rumours were found to be coming from Australia, although most false claims were found to be originally from the United States.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world is plateauing. In most areas the pandemic is declining, including in the Americas and Europe. Currently, approximately 5.4 million cases and 90,000 deaths are being reported a week – still an alarmingly high number.
Early results from an Australian study have shown that most COVID-19 patients are still experiencing symptoms 6-12 months after infection. The COVID Recovery Study has tracked around 200 patients around Australia, finding that 30% of people were ‘alive and disability free’ 6 months after contracting the virus. 70% of patients were still experiencing symptoms including shortness of breath, weakness, tiredness, coughing or headaches 6 months on.
For adults suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), how consistently you use your CPAP machine could have a significant effect on your weight, not just your sleep. Researchers have found that patients who used CPAP for 5 hours or less per night had an increased BMI compared to patients who used CPAP for more than 5 hours per night. You can view more details of the study here: https://bit.ly/33romtE
