Covid

Business Tech

What to expect from the next Covid wave and lockdown restrictions: Absa

While the Covid-19 risk has diminished in South Africa, it has not disappeared, and a resurgence of cases in recent weeks could weigh on the economy this year, say economists at Absa bank. “New Covid-19 cases are again on the rise, with the positive test ratio reaching 21% on 27 April, the highest level since […]

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Technology

Can the Technology Behind Covid Vaccines Cure Other Diseases?

The vaccines that have helped billions of people around the world to protect themselves from Covid-19 were a surprise even to their manufacturers. Harnessing a new and relatively untried technology called messenger RNA, or mRNA, the vaccines were available many months and possibly even years ahead of when health experts expected safe and effective traditional […]

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Smartphone

App uses smartphone cameras to test for Covid, with high accuracy

Researchers continue working to make it much easier — and cheaper — to test for Covid-19. A team led by scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, announced Friday that it has designed a system that uses a smartphone’s camera to perform Covid tests, with accuracy that could match lab-based PCR tests. In a […]

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Technology

COVID vaccine mRNA technology offers hope for heart disease treatment

Combining technologies that proved hugely successful against cancer and in COVID-19 vaccines, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown they can effectively treat a leading cause of heart disease. For now the success has only been achieved in mice, but the milestone offers hope for millions of people whose heart muscle is damaged by […]

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Business Tech

Previous Covid recovery doesn’t offer much protection against Omicron: UK study

A previous Covid-19 recovery provides little shield against infection with the omicron variant, a research team from Imperial College London showed in a large study that underlines the importance of booster shots. Having had Covid probably only offers 19% protection against omicron, the study showed on Friday. That was roughly in line with two doses of vaccine, […]

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Business Tech

What a hospital in Tshwane is teaching us about vaccinated vs unvaccinated Covid patients

The majority of the patients who were treated for Covid-19 at Tshwane public hospitals were unvaccinated. The information is contained in a report on the early experience of the patient profile at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital and Tshwane District Hospital (SBAH-TDH) complex, in the heart of the Tshwane District. The SBAH combined its workforce […]

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Business Tech

Vaccine-evading Covid mutations warning

The proliferation of Covid-19 variants in Africa, partly attributed to the low rates of vaccination on the continent, could lead to vaccine-evading mutations that complicate attempts to end the pandemic, a group of 112 African and 25 international organisations said. A study of genomes from 33 African nations and two “overseas territories,” published in the […]

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