Whooping cough epidemic reaches record numbers GPs are urged to ensure patients have had their vaccine, as ‘staggeringly high’ cases soar to a record-breaking 41,772 so far this year.
‘Practical barriers’ central to low childhood immunisation rates High costs and lack of appointments are the top reasons stopping Australian parents from vaccinating their kids, says groundbreaking new research.
Preventable hospitalisations soar in GPs’ absence: AIHW Patients with limited GP access are hospitalised three times more than their city counterparts, and the RACGP warns this will only worsen without a funding shakeup.
New tool aims to reduce kids’ hospitalisations for UTI A world-first tool which determines a unique score of clinical features will help GPs decide the correct route of antibiotics for UTIs in children.
Is prescription affordability impacting hospitalisations? Research has revealed patients unable to pay for medication are ending up in hospitals, as doctors call for cost-of-living relief.
Australian child vaccination rates continue to fall Many jurisdictions are close to the herd immunity threshold for highly infectious diseases like measles, with some areas especially vulnerable.
Could ‘nurse navigators’ help the severely mentally ill? People with serious mental illness are dying much earlier than average from entirely preventable diseases, a situation a new policy aims to improve.
Testing concerns as COVID hospitalisations hit record levels More people are currently in hospital across Australia with COVID-19 than at any other time during the pandemic.
Booster protection wanes after four months – what does this mean for winter in Australia? The US CDC’s latest report on the durability of booster protection has found a more than 20% decline in effectiveness against emergency department encounters.
Research suggests hospitalisation risk lower for Omicron UK data indicates the variant is less severe than Delta, though increased transmissibility and reduced vaccine efficacy remain major concerns.