What to expect from the next Covid wave and lockdown restrictions: Absa
- Deanne Drexler
- May 8, 2022
- Absa
- Covid
- expect
- lockdown
- restrictions
- wave
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 […]
Read MoreCan the Technology Behind Covid Vaccines Cure Other Diseases?
- Deanne Drexler
- February 8, 2022
- Covid
- Cure
- Diseases
- technology
- vaccines
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 […]
Read MoreApp uses smartphone cameras to test for Covid, with high accuracy
- Deanne Drexler
- January 30, 2022
- accuracy
- app
- cameras
- Covid
- high
- smartphone
- test
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 […]
Read MoreCOVID vaccine mRNA technology offers hope for heart disease treatment
- Deanne Drexler
- January 11, 2022
- Covid
- disease
- heart
- hope
- mRNA
- offers
- technology
- treatment
- vaccine
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 […]
Read MorePrevious Covid recovery doesn’t offer much protection against Omicron: UK study
- Deanne Drexler
- December 22, 2021
- Covid
- doesnt
- offer
- omicron
- Previous
- protection
- recovery
- 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, […]
Read MoreWhat a hospital in Tshwane is teaching us about vaccinated vs unvaccinated Covid patients
- Deanne Drexler
- December 10, 2021
- Covid
- hospital
- patients
- teaching
- Tshwane
- unvaccinated
- vaccinated
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 […]
Read MoreVaccine-evading Covid mutations warning
- Deanne Drexler
- September 15, 2021
- Covid
- mutations
- Vaccineevading
- 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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