October 30, 2023
Africa: Why Some People Got Blood Clots After the Astrazeneca Vaccine - New Clues
AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford developed one of the first vaccines against COVID. The vaccine, which used an adenovirus to smuggle instructions into human… Read more »
October 23, 2023
South Africa: How President Ramaphosa's Covid Speeches Drew On Mandela's Ideas of Unity
In times of crisis, leaders wield more than just political power. They harness the art of rhetoric in a bid to unite their nations towards a common goal. South Africa, with a… Read more »
September 12, 2023
Africa: How Evasive and Transmissible Is the Newest Omicron Offshoot, BA.2.86, That Causes Covid-19? 4 Questions Answered
The latest variant, or sublineage, of SARS-CoV-2 to emerge on the scene, BA.2.86, has public health experts on alert as COVID-19 hospitalizations begin to rise and the new variant… Read more »
Africa: CDC Greenlights Two Updated Covid-19 Vaccines, but How Will They Fare Against the Latest Variants? 5 Questions Answered
On Sept. 12, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the newly formulated COVID-19 vaccines for all Americans ages 6 months and up, hours after its expert… Read more »
August 23, 2023
Ghana: Accra's Most Vulnerable Residents Were Failed During Covid - the Government Didn't Understand Their Realities
Containment measures, such as the lockdowns introduced to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, had devastating consequences for vulnerable urban populations globally. Read more »
August 10, 2023
Africa: The WHO Has Declared Eris a 'Variant of Interest'. How Is It Different From Other Omicron Variants?
EG.5 is a family of Omicron variants (descended from XBB.1.9.2) that first appeared back in February 2023. Read more »
August 06, 2023
Ghana: Ghana's Housing Policy and Regulation Is Failing - Covid Proved As Much
Access to decent housing is a fundamental human right. Across sub-Saharan Africa, however, this right remains an elusive dream for many households. Read more »
August 02, 2023
Africa: Does Picking Your Nose Really Increase Your Risk of Covid?
Picking your nose is linked to an increased risk of COVID, according to a study out today. Read more »
July 26, 2023
Africa: Long Covid - Brain Function Still Affected for Some Up to Two Years After Infection - New Research
Difficulties with cognitive functions or skills, such as the ability to recall memories, concentrate on tasks, or find the right words in conversation, are commonly reported… Read more »
July 05, 2023
Africa: New Research Shows How Covid-19 Affects Younger Children and Those From Deprived Areas
At the heights of the pandemic, particularly since 2021, many children and teenagers admitted to hospital had COVID. However, it was never clear what proportion of them were in… Read more »
July 04, 2023
Africa: Vaccine Hesitancy Is One of Greatest Threats to Global Health - And the Pandemic Made It Worse
The COVID pandemic has disrupted many areas of routine healthcare including, importantly, childhood vaccination. Read more »
July 03, 2023
Africa: Covid Vaccination in Pregnancy Greatly Reduces Risk of Severe Illness and Death - And Protects Babies
From the early days of the pandemic, it has been evident that a COVID-19 infection in pregnancy can be serious. Hundreds of studies from around the world have consistently shown… Read more »
June 27, 2023
Africa: Covid-19 Hurt Kids' Math Learning More Than Reading and Writing - With the Biggest Setbacks in Fall 2020
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Read more »
June 14, 2023
Africa: What If China Really Did Develop Covid As a Bioweapon? Here Are the Issues Involved
China is facing renewed allegations that the COVID-19 outbreak was caused by a leak from one of their laboratories - and that this research is connected to biowarfare. Read more »
June 12, 2023
Africa: Long Covid - Effects On Fatigue and Quality of Life Can Be Comparable to Some Cancers - New Research
As of March 2023, the Office for National Statistics estimated that 1.7 million people in the UK were living with self-reported long COVID. This refers to symptoms, including… Read more »
June 07, 2023
Africa: Covid Has Highlighted the Connection Between Spirituality and Vaccine Scepticism
In the two and a half years since the first COVID vaccines were administered, anti-vaccination sentiment has grown exponentially. Scepticism about vaccines has been voiced, in… Read more »
May 31, 2023
Africa: The First Line of Vaccines Was Highly Effective At Restricting Covid-19's Damage
After more than three years of COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that over 763 million infections, and nearly seven million deaths, have been attributed to… Read more »
May 25, 2023
Africa: Doctor Dog - How Our Canine Companions Can Help Us Detect Covid and Other Diseases
While we humans generally experience the world through sight, dogs use scent to learn about the environment around them. What their nose knows is crucial for finding food, mates… Read more »
May 17, 2023
Africa: Pivotal Points in the Covid-19 Pandemic - 5 Essential Reads
Experts have made it clear that the end of the COVID-19 national emergency, which was lifted on May 11, 2023, does not mean an end to the pandemic. But this shift signals a… Read more »
May 16, 2023
Africa: Architecture After Covid - How the Pandemic Inspired Building Designers
Walking during lockdowns, following protocols and restrictions, city dwellers witnessed the birth of a new architectural aesthetic. Read more »
May 11, 2023
Africa: Our Research Shows Home Working Didn't Harm Mental Health At the Start of the Pandemic - but Things Changed Later On
One of the key changes to our daily lives brought about by the COVID pandemic was, for those able to do so, working from home. According to UK data, almost 60% of people were… Read more »
May 09, 2023
Africa: Many People Are Tired of Grappling With Long Covid - Here Are Some Evidence-Based Ways to Counter It
A patient of mine, once a marathon runner, now gets tired just walking around the block. She developed COVID-19 during the 2020 Christmas holiday and saw me during the summer of… Read more »
May 08, 2023
Nigeria: Remote Teaching in Nigeria and South Africa Got a Covid Wake-Up Call - How to Capitalise On It
Universities had to deal with many anxieties and uncertainties during the early days of the COVID pandemic. One of these was how to move all of their teaching online. For some, the… Read more »
May 03, 2023
Africa: Arcturus - What to Know About the New Covid Variant, Omicron Xbb.1.16
A new COVID variant XBB.1.16, or "Arcturus", has now been identified in at least 34 countries including the UK. Read more »
April 18, 2023
Africa: If 1% of Covid-19 Cases Result in Death, Does That Mean You Have a 1% Chance of Dying If You Catch It?
As of April 2023, about 1% of people who contracted COVID-19 ended up dying. Does that mean you have a 1% chance of dying from COVID-19? Read more »