What is “Immunity Debt”?

Posted onDecember 2, 2023December 29, 20233 Comments

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 …

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in Australia – worth not(ify)ing

Posted onAugust 27, 2023August 27, 2023

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 …

Vote Yes in the 2023 voice to Parliament referendum.

I’m voting YES to the Voice to Parliament.

Posted onAugust 8, 2023August 9, 20232 Comments

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

Posted onMay 7, 2023May 7, 20232 Comments

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’

Posted onMay 7, 2023May 7, 2023

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

Posted onApril 29, 2023July 13, 2023

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 …

young annoyed female freelancer using laptop at home

‘Endemic’ covers a lot of biology, but we’re probably not there yet for COVID-19

Posted onJanuary 2, 2023January 2, 2023

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?

Posted onJuly 24, 2022July 25, 20222 Comments

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

Posted onJuly 7, 2022July 26, 20223 Comments

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

Posted onJune 7, 2022June 8, 2022

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…

Posted onMay 2, 2022May 2, 2022

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

Posted onApril 25, 2022May 11, 20222 Comments

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

Posted onApril 18, 2022April 18, 2022

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?

Posted onApril 15, 2022April 17, 2022

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)

Posted onMarch 19, 2022March 26, 2022

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 …

Virology Down Under

Facts, data, info, expert opinion and a reasonable, occasionally grumpy, voice on viruses: what they are, how they tick and the illnesses they may cause.

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