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Continuing COVID-19 vaccine trials may put some volunteers at unnecessary risk. Is that ethical?
The first two COVID-19 vaccines to complete clinical trials have been so successful they raise concerns for the next ones.
Is it ethical to give people a placebo when a lifesaving vaccine is available? Should those who received placebos in the first two trials be given preferential access to active vaccine to thank them for their sacrifice?
There is no consensus among ethicists and public he... |
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South Asian people most likely to die in hospital
South Asian people are the most likely to die from coronavirus after being admitted to hospital in Great Britain, major analysis shows.
It is the only ethnic group to have a raised risk of death in hospital and is partly due to high levels of diabetes.
The study is hugely significant as it assessed data from four-in-10 of all hospital patients with Covid-19.
The researchers said policies ... |
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US death toll passes 50,000 in world's deadliest outbreak
The US virus death toll has surpassed 50,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, in what is the world's deadliest Covid-19 outbreak.
More than 3,000 deaths came in the last 24 hours, and there are now over 870,000 confirmed cases nationwide.
But the US still has a lower mortality rate than most European nations based on current case counts, as the White House task force has emp... |
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Europe's care homes struggle as deaths rise
As nursing and care homes across Europe battle to stop the spread of Covid-19 among the elderly, France has revealed 1,416 residents have succumbed to the virus since the epidemic began.
Alarming cases have emerged in the Spanish capital Madrid, with reports of dozens of deaths in two nursing homes.
Residents were taken to hospital in the Italian city of Naples after a care home outbreak cla... |
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There's a new symptom of coronavirus, doctors say: Sudden loss of smell or taste
A loss of a sense of smell or taste may be a symptom of COVID-19, medical groups representing ear, nose and throat specialists have warned.
Citing a growing number of cases around the globe, the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and ENT UK each issued warnings about patients who tested positive for the new coronavirus with the only symptom being a lost or altered sense ... |
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Coronavirus: Emergency legislation 'will protect NHS volunteers'
The government has outlined emergency legislation to tackle coronavirus, including measures to allow people to leave their jobs and volunteer to care for those affected.
Proposals would also allow court cases to be heard via video links.
It comes ahead of an expected move from the UK's "containment" phase of the outbreak response to "delay".
Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged t... |
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Coronavirus: No change in outbreak despite China spike, WHO says
Coronavirus cases are not rising dramatically outside China despite a spike in Hubei province, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
The only exception was on a cruise liner docked in Japan, where 44 new cases were reported, bringing the total there to 218.
There was also no major shift in the coronavirus's pattern of mortality or severity, according to the WHO.
The latest figures sho... |
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Immune discovery 'may treat all cancer'
A newly-discovered part of our immune system could be harnessed to treat all cancers, say scientists.
The Cardiff University team discovered a method of killing prostate, breast, lung and other cancers in lab tests.
The findings, published in Nature Immunology, have not been tested in patients, but the researchers say they have "enormous potential".
Experts said that although the work was... |
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Do you really need to walk 10,000 steps a day? Experts say there's a better goal
Walking 10,000 steps a day is a good baseline to help you stay fit, but it isn't the one-size-fits-all goal you might think.
Fitness trackers such as Fitbit use the number as a default goal, but fitness experts suggest tailoring a step goal to an individual. Researchers traced the origins of the 10,000-step practice to a marketing gimmick from the 1960s and suggested some people don't greatly b... |
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Cannabis-based medicine for epilepsy available on NHS from January
People with severe epilepsy will be able to access a cannabis-based medicine on the NHS from early next year after it was fast-tracked for use.
NHS England said doctors would be able to prescribe Epidyolex from 6 January.
It will be for children from age two, as well as adults, but some campaigners warn it is "too little too late".
Clinical trials have shown the oral solution, which conta... |
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