Alumni

Most Victorians are now somewhere between a Stage 3 and Stage 4 lockdown, and wearing masks will soon be mandatory. But going into a full-blown Stage 4 lockdown requires a worthy goal.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration has been more vigilant in policing advertisements for unproven COVID-19 ‘treatments’. But have some slipped through the cracks?

New research finds that general practitioners and other specialists are feeling the stress – not just from COVID-19, but also the broader economic fallout.

Just like a politician shouldn’t waste a good crisis, so Melbourne should not waste a lockdown.

Finding existing drugs that are effective against COVID-19 is our best bet toward treatments, and the US buy-up of Remdesivir supplies highlights how urgent the race is.

To overcome lower rates of COVID-19 testing in low and middle-income countries, a new method for calculating exposure risk has been developed to help stem the pandemic.

Unless a new treatment is discovered, developing a vaccine is crucial to controlling COVID-19. In this special report, our experts explain the complex challenge of creating, testing and distributing a potential vaccine to end the coronavirus pandemic

Australia needs a National Housing Strategy, as well as consistent funding and policy mechanisms, to reverse our long-term declines in social housing.

Dr Amanda Rojek was on the frontline of the Ebola epidemic. Back in Australia she is drawing on those lessons in the COVID-19 pandemic.

New research is finding ways to beat dangerous superbugs with ‘resistance resistant’ antibiotics, and it could help in our fight against COVID-19 complications.

COVID-19 created new ways of working together overnight, but as restrictions are eased, what we do now and what comes next matters.

Australia has a long history of tackling health challenges collectively, but public trust in government is a crucial ingredient, especially now during COVID-19.

Nobel Prize winner Professor Peter Doherty updates us on the latest COVID-19 drug and vaccine research, and how best to prepare for the next pandemic.

International Nurses Day is a chance to look back at the changing role of nursing and acknowledge the integral part they play on the frontline of COVID-19.

COVID-19 has generated an information – and misinformation – overload. But what people need are updates that are relevant, concise and don’t offer false hope.

‘One-size-fits-all’ won’t work for COVID-19; research and policy must include intersecting factors like gender, age, indigeneity, disability, geography, socio-economic and refugee status.

Dr Grant Blashki, a GP, professor of global health and lead clinical advisor at Beyond Blue, helps us understand our mental health during isolation.

Medical students have always volunteered to help during health crises and disasters, and research suggests that pitching in with due care is good for them.

Some countries have reported a 40 per cent decline in cancer cases at the peak of COVID-19, but an early GP visit means hospitals can prioritise care and capacity for cancer patients.

While there’s great biomedical science in every Australian capital, the Parkville Precinct – or the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct as it’s formally known – may be our most concentrated “research engine”.

Across the board, Australia’s research community faces challenges but there are opportunities to emerge stronger, more creative and more connected.

Swiftwater, with less than 1000 people, is a tiny, rural community in the great State of Pennsylvania. It’s also home to one of the world’s biggest influenza vaccine laboratories.

Against all odds, Australian epidemiologist Professor John Mathews is in good spirits. “Australia has every right to hold its head up and say we’ve done well,” he tells The Independent.

As thousands of Australians face unemployment due to COVID-19, it is a good time to revisit the image of the ‘dole bludger’ and support everyone to seek work with respect.

Health workers are doing it tough on the front line of the pandemic and some have died, but for most the risk of fatal infection is very low, and the risk to older health workers can be mitigated.

Privacy and transparency should be central to the use of a COVID-19 tracking app, but there are other ways to track infections, and an app may not work anyway.

The Australian government has now announced a tailored COVID-19 strategy for people with disability, but it should have come sooner and may not go far enough.

Innovative COVID-19 treatment trials enable us to quickly hone in on the most promising treatments, saving time and potentially saving lives.

Universities around the world are collaborating to crowd-source coronavirus accounts creating an archive of COVID-19 for future historians.

Why clarifying the distinction between ’therapeutic’ and ‘cosmetic’ hand sanitisers could be critical in the fight against COVID-19.

Currently, we are all naturally consumed by COVID-19 but it is already proving extremely difficult to stay abreast of the daily surge in information pertaining to the infection. There are thousands of publications on the topic and, even though children seem less severely infected, there are already nearly three hundred papers directly relevant to children infected with SARS-CoV-2.

The Australian Government needs to step up and better support Aboriginal women and children at-risk of violence amid COVID-19.

In a time when we feel we can’t manage our environment, there are still some effective ways to manage our feelings.

Words, words, words. In dealing with COVID-19 (now there’s a new word for everyone!) we’re being bombarded with partly familiar, or totally unfamiliar words. And of all the science-speak you’re currently encountering is my principal research area – immunology – which definitely has more words than just about any other area of medicine.

Australia has a legal and humanitarian obligation to protect people in immigration detention during the COVID-19 crisis, which should trigger a rethink of our policies.

The COVID-19 restrictions are having short-term environmental benefits, but the crisis also presents an opportunity to plan Australia’s low or zero net emissions future.

The profound changes in our lifestyle due to COVID-19 social distancing may require us to take more deliberate actions to exercise our thinking skills. Here are some tips.

New research investigates whether Antarctic penguins have fewer viruses than other birds and if they act as a reservoir for viruses in birds globally - including the coronavirus.

As Term 2 starts for many students, COVID-19 means schooling at home has become a reality. So, how can parents and carers help? Particularly those in their final year of school?

Researchers have shown that a new antiviral drug for influenza can treat the infection at the same time as reducing the risk of transmission to others, offering powerful potential to change the way we manage influenza outbreaks – particularly in vulnerable groups.

Families self-isolating together can bring the worst out in each other. Here’s how to avoid becoming a shark, turtle or fox, and instead, channeling your penguin, teddy-bear or owl.

The escalating COVID-19 virus situation is leading to natural increases in stress, worry and anxiety in many people. The uncertainty associated with COVID-19, the disruption to usual routines, the need for working from home or self-isolating can have significant impacts on your wellbeing and mental health. If you or people close to you fall into a high-risk category, then your anxiety and mental health may be particularly impacted.

Doherty Institute researchers have released their work on COVID-19 modelling to the general public. These models have been utilised by the Commonwealth Government in the public health response to COVID-19. It’s important to note the modelling is based on preparedness scenarios to inform planning, they are not predictions. It informs the actions taken to slow the spread and prepare the health system.

Australia owes a debt of gratitude to its pandemic modellers, public health officials and politicians – we have avoided the explosive beginning of a COVID-19 epidemic that most other countries are now cursed with.

It has become clear to me that we have two major problems now with the COVID response: a lack of critical information (including modelling done for the Government) accessible by both experts and the public so we can understand and participate in decision-making; and a deep confusion now about what flattening the curve means (is it suppressing COVID infection to the lowest possible level we can achieve short of elimination, or is it a level of COVID infection in the population that allows the epidemic to pass to herd immunity within the constraints of health system capacity?).

There's been a lot of guesswork about how long it'll take for life to get back to normal after COVID-19.

Thousands of medical students are set to bolster Victoria’s health system and join the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic, with some starting in hospitals as early as this week.

Doherty Institute Director, Professor Sharon Lewin, recently sat down with the Head of Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences and clinical neuropsychologist, Professor Sarah Wilson, to chat about the impact COVID-19 has on the well-being of our community and gives insight into the various reactions in the community.

The COVID-19 pandemic is terrifying for many of us, but people with a disability have more reason to worry than most.

We are now a society at a distance. As of this week, New South Wales has closed restaurants, bars, gyms, and entertainment venues where people gather in large numbers.