Resources for Journalists

QUT research reveals Freo as creative capital of WA

Publicly released: Thu 27 May 2021 at 1500 AEST, 1700 NZST

QUT eprints

bodies including Arts Queensland, Creative Victoria, Arts NSW, Arts South Australia and Department of Culture and the Arts, WA. ... These are jobs among those less able to be replaced by automation and Read more about QUT research reveals Freo as creative capital of WA

EXPERT REACTION: Victoria announces 7-day circuit breaker lockdown to combat highly infectious variant of concern

Publicly released: Thu 27 May 2021 at 1300 AEST, 1500 NZST

It has just been reported that Victoria will enter a seven-day circuit breaker lockdown from 11:59pm tonight in a bid to curb the state’s growing coronavirus outbreak caused ... In a press conference, Read more about EXPERT REACTION: Victoria announces 7-day circuit breaker lockdown to combat highly infectious variant of concern

New 'hottest year on record' likely to occur in the next 5 years

Publicly released: Thu 27 May 2021 at 1130 AEST, 1330 NZST

The Paris Agreement seeks to keep global temperature rise this century well below 2°C degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even Read more about New 'hottest year on record' likely to occur in the next 5 years

Donuts, beer, big bucks - but are vaccine incentives a good idea?

Publicly released: Thu 27 May 2021 at 0700 AEST, 0900 NZST

New England Journal of Medicine

Krispy Kreme donuts, free beer, gift cards - and multi-million dollar lotteries - are all incentives offered by some American states and businesses to tempt more people to take up the Read more about Donuts, beer, big bucks - but are vaccine incentives a good idea?

Almost three-quarters of COVID survivors have lingering symptoms

Publicly released: Thu 27 May 2021 at 0100 AEST, 0300 NZST

JAMA Network Open

Long-lasting problems are occurring for many people after being infected with COVID-19. ... But the frequency, variety, and severity of these complications aren’t yet well understood. Read more about Almost three-quarters of COVID survivors have lingering symptoms

Pfizer vaccine may pack less punch for people with arthritis

Publicly released: Wed 26 May 2021 at 0830 AEST, 1030 NZST

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

The authors assessed the immune response to the mRNA Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in 82 patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (mainly psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid Read more about Pfizer vaccine may pack less punch for people with arthritis

'Supertasters' could be naturally better at fighting off COVID-19

Publicly released: Wed 26 May 2021 at 0100 AEST, 0300 NZST

JAMA Network Open

Of the 266 people who tested positive for COVID-19 during the study, 15 were 'supertasters'. ... tastes) and outcomes after infection with SARS-CoV-2. Read more about 'Supertasters' could be naturally better at fighting off COVID-19

Home palliative care doubles as need increases overall in Australia

Publicly released: Wed 26 May 2021 at 0001 AEST, 0201 NZST

In 2018-19, 83,430 hospitalisations were related to palliative care with hospitalisations increasing over the five years of the report. ... Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost 83,500 palliative Read more about Home palliative care doubles as need increases overall in Australia

China makes remarkable gains in maternal and child survival rates

Publicly released: Wed 26 May 2021 at 0001 AEST, 0201 NZST

The Lancet

advances in medical services and technology The report found that China now needed to turn its focus to emerging or neglected health problems including infertility, stillbirth, mental health and the Read more about China makes remarkable gains in maternal and child survival rates

EXPERT REACTION: The Indian B1617 COVID-19 variant is in the Melbourne community

Publicly released: Tue 25 May 2021 at 1530 AEST, 1730 NZST

Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton has confirmed Victoria's new locally acquired case as the B1617 variant, which is currently wreaking havoc across India. ... As of Tuesday afternoon, nine Read more about EXPERT REACTION: The Indian B1617 COVID-19 variant is in the Melbourne community

Getting vaccinated won't make 'long COVID' worse

Publicly released: Tue 25 May 2021 at 1059 AEST, 1259 NZST

Annals of Internal Medicine

Long COVID is a persistence of symptoms including fatigue, breathlessness and insomnia after a person has recovered from COVID-19. ... According to the researchers, these observations are important Read more about Getting vaccinated won't make 'long COVID' worse

Vaccines becoming more acceptable in the US - especially in Black and Hispanic populations

Publicly released: Tue 25 May 2021 at 0958 AEST, 1158 NZST

JAMA

The decrease, in late 2020 and early 2021, occurred in tandem with regulatory approval of COVID-19 vaccines and the mass vaccination rollout. ... The authors say more needs to be done to build public Read more about Vaccines becoming more acceptable in the US - especially in Black and Hispanic populations

EXPERT REACTION: NZ & Aus are exporting more sugary drinks to the Pacific - and paying rising healthcare costs

Publicly released: Tue 25 May 2021 at 0913 AEST, 1113 NZST

BMC Nutrition

3 kg per person each year from 2000 to 2015. New Zealand and the USA gained the most financially from these exports. ... The authors say the results highlight the irony that Kiwi and Aussie taxpayers are Read more about EXPERT REACTION: NZ & Aus are exporting more sugary drinks to the Pacific - and paying rising healthcare costs

Healthcare workers may have been 3 times more likely to get COVID-19 during 2020

Publicly released: Tue 25 May 2021 at 0901 AEST, 1101 NZST

ERJ Open Research

An international study of 2,063 Scottish health and social care workers found that they were three times more likely to get COVID-19, but one in five of the workers ... community. Among the 300 healthcare Read more about Healthcare workers may have been 3 times more likely to get COVID-19 during 2020

Feeling lonely? Turn up the volume!

Publicly released: Tue 25 May 2021 at 0830 AEST, 1030 NZST

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Sound could be used to combat feelings of loneliness, including during COVID-19-related lockdowns and quarantine, according to new research from James Cook University. ... This research is particularly Read more about Feeling lonely? Turn up the volume!

NZ communicated well on COVID-19 testing, finds experiment

Publicly released: Tue 25 May 2021 at 0749 AEST, 0949 NZST

BMJ Open

New Zealand Ministry of Health messaging around how to interpret COVID-19 test results was far more effective than the UK and US, according to a first-of-its-kind online ... The authors suggest other Read more about NZ communicated well on COVID-19 testing, finds experiment

New drugs to fight COVID-19 developed

Publicly released: Tue 25 May 2021 at 0001 AEST, 0201 NZST

Nature Cell Discovery

The two early intervention drugs target how human cells respond to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, instead of the virus itself. ... The discovery of the peptide-based drugs was made possible after the researchers Read more about New drugs to fight COVID-19 developed

Metabolic hormone ‘leptin’ linked to vaccine response

Publicly released: Mon 24 May 2021 at 1900 AEST, 2100 NZST

Nature Communications

The researchers are keen to test responses to the COVID-19 vaccines to determine biomarkers that could identify those people at risk of not generating a strong vaccine response. ... During the era of the Read more about Metabolic hormone ‘leptin’ linked to vaccine response

Triage rules needed for health workers

Publicly released: Mon 24 May 2021 at 1100 AEST, 1300 NZST

MJA

A warning has been issued that Australian health workers face legal risks if they make triage decisions during a disaster – and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the problem sharply into Read more about Triage rules needed for health workers

Branding the jab: the secret weapon to increase vaccination rates

Publicly released: Fri 21 May 2021 at 1600 AEST, 1800 NZST

As the global race for COVID-19 vaccination continues, new research from the University of South Australia shows that the uptake of vaccines could be vastly improved if approved vaccine brands Read more about Branding the jab: the secret weapon to increase vaccination rates