Herd immunity. What is it? What can it do for us? Or to us?
It can be our best friend and our worst enemy.
Herd immunity—friend or enemy?
Tag Archives: social distancing
Scientists are zeroing in on how to treat COVID-19 The world needs an effective treatment right away.
COVID-19 may infect much of population in many countries. From its origins in Wuhan, China, it has proven lethal in a small but alarming fraction of cases. The principal risk is pneumonia in elderly or already ill patients. There will be no vaccine for at least a year. The world needs an effective treatment right […]
An old drug may treat the new coronavirus Low concentrations of two of the drugs tested kill the virus
For those concerned about the new coronavirus—these days who isn’t?—good news may be just around the corner. Here’s what it could mean for you and your family and maybe for your job. Like any infectious disease that can kill people, 2019-nCoV is bad news. But so far, its bark is worse than its bite: the […]
Not Getting Vaccinated Causes Autism
Vaccination matters to all of us. It is the first line of defence against bugs that could kill millions. Vaccination and autism have a fraught relationship. Now there is good news. In 1998 a paper in The Lancet linked autism to vaccination. It was later proved to be a fraud. But now some parents refuse […]
Be Careful What You Wish For
Here is a story that can save you money. It might even save your life. If we could see all of the organisms that surround us, we would see microbes, billions of them, many kinds of viruses, bacteria, fungi and archaea. Most of them do nothing to us. Some could help us. Others, if they […]
Many Measly Ways of Dying
A new study has revealed how infection with measles exposes children to many other causes of death. This is something caring parents need to know about. Measles (aka rubeola) shows up as a rash. It is very infectious. Because it mostly just goes away we tend to think of it as a nuisance that keeps […]
Taking the Shot
These days there’s news about the pros and cons of vaccinations. There is good news and there’s bad news. Let’s unscramble them, because we can learn from both good and bad. There is good news about ebola vaccines. Ebola is about eight times less infectious than measles but it’s far more deadly. It’s a gruesome […]