Many countries with already high vaccination rates are considering offering people an additional coronavirus vaccine dose. But are these booster shots necessary? And what about the issue of vaccine equity? The Guardian’s Natalie Grover examines the cos…
Does Covid immunity wane and will vaccine booster jabs be needed?
Multiple studies seem to suggest immunity declines over time, though what this means is unclearCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWith plans for the UK’s Covid vaccine booster programme this autumn soon to be revealed, we take …
US intelligence study inconclusive on Covid origins, according to reports
Assessment unable to conclude whether virus came from animals or a Wuhan lab, according to US mediaCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA classified US intelligence report delivered to the White House was inconclusive on the orig…
Antibody test rollout could steer a targeted booster programme
UK scheme could also illuminate reinfection rates and immunity across different variants, say expertsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAntibody tests are to be offered widely to the UK public as part of a new programme which a…
French scientist who pushed unproven Covid drug may be forced from post
Didier Raoult, who promoted hydroxychloroquine treatment, may not be able to continue his researchThe French scientist who promoted the discredited hydroxychloroquine treatment for Covid-19 backed by Donald Trump faces being pushed out of the infectiou…
Jabbed adults infected with Delta ‘can match virus levels of unvaccinated’
Researchers say implications for transmission remain unclear but reaching herd immunity even more challengingCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFully vaccinated adults can harbour virus levels as high as unvaccinated people if …
WHO condemns rush by wealthy nations to give Covid vaccine booster
Move likened to handing out lifejackets to those who already have them while letting others drownCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe World Health Organization has condemned the rush by wealthy countries to provide Covid-19 v…
Vectura shareholders urged to reject Philip Morris takeover
Health experts, medics and charities warn £1.1bn tobacco firm deal could cost inhaler maker access to government grantsShareholders in the asthma inhaler maker Vectura have been urged to reject a £1.1bn takeover by the tobacco company Philip Morris Int…
New Covid variants ‘will set us back a year’, experts warn UK government
Vaccine-beating variant is ‘realistic possibility’, say scientists, amid calls for contingency plans to be revealedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMinisters are being pressed to reveal what contingency plans are in place to …
‘No concept of how awful it was’: the forgotten world of pre-vaccine childhood in Australia
Until relatively recently, lethal infectious diseases stalked the lives of Australian children – including my father, Tom Keneally. Vaccines have saved millions It’s 1940, and a five-year-old boy lies in an oxygen tent. He struggles for breath and hall…