What is “Immunity Debt”?
Something called “immunity debt” has been in the news quite a bit lately. Most recently, because of what looks like a multicountry Mycoplasma pneumoniae epidemic, but before then, in the Read More …
Author: Ian M Mackay, PhD (EIC)
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in Australia – worth not(ify)ing
Once upon a time, we grew viruses from sick patients’ samples. This took an age, failed often, had low throughput and was not a good diagnostic tool. Then we developed Read More …
I’m voting YES to the Voice to Parliament.
Because the First Nations people of Australia deserve to have the privileges the rest of us take for granted and, at the very least, be the source of truth on Read More …
Excess deaths align with COVID-19
There are minimisers who spread misinformation, like butter on hot toast. And yes, it can sink in and spread further. One of these piles of melted fat ridiculously claims that Read More …
Variation is key to the SARS-CoV-2 ‘waves’
Just a short note to highlight that viruses changing their ‘look’ through selection and expansion of variants in response to our immune system’s pressure on their evolution has been the Read More …
The 2023 southern hemisphere influenza vaccine
Each year we get a new vaccine for each hemisphere. The design gets settled six months out, and sometimes a lot can change in that time. So how does the Read More …
‘Endemic’ covers a lot of biology, but we’re probably not there yet for COVID-19
Right up front, I’m going to repeat myself by saying that I think COVID-19 will become a disease that has endemic as well as epidemic states at some point in Read More …
Whatever happened to communication?
I’m not an expert in many things. But I’m enough of a scientist to conclude with confidence that what’s happening now with COVID-19 in Australia and in many other countries Read More …
Masks matter for more than mandates
The amount of virus per amount of snot, air, monkey or whatever is a way to describe the concentration of virus present in that thing. It might seem intuitive to Read More …
An early & big flu rise in Australia
Influenza (flu) cases have been rising rapidly in Australia this year. Some see this as a result of waning immunity during our border closures. Some see this as the harbinger Read More …
BA.2.12.1 is on the rise in New York…
A recently named sub-strain represents the latest twist in the ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2. It’s currently active in the United States and looks to be very capable of spreading, outpacing Read More …
Unexplained hepatitis: severe liver inflammation among young children
Uncharacterised and so far rare cases of unexplained severe liver inflammation among young children. These cases of unexplained hepatitis have been appearing in elevated numbers worldwide since November 2021. The Read More …
Lockdowns had a role: they saved lives
There are threats and lists and all manner of abuse aimed at those who promoted or supported measures that saved lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. I just want to make Read More …
Super-cold or a silly headline?
In Australia, there seem to be a bunch of articles talking about “super-colds”. Please stop calling them this. They are just colds caused by one or more of the many Read More …
Arrrrr on the rise (Rhinovirus, RSV and RATs)
Anecdotally there are a lot of acute respiratory virus infections ripping through the community where I live. Particularly noticeable in schools but also workplaces. Yes, there is SARS-CoV-2 among these Read More …