The coronavirus commonly causes gastrointestinal symptoms, but whether this is due to inflammation, disruption to our microbiome or the virus affecting the permeability of our gut wall is unclear

THE UK looks set to drop almost all of its covid-19 restrictions on 19 July, despite infections soaring. The UK government appears to be banking on the fact that more than half the nation has been fully vaccinated against the virus, helping minimise the number of hospitalisations from covid-19. But most under-18s, who make up about a fifth of the UK population, haven’t had jabs yet. The rationale for this is that children get less sick from covid-19 and were mainly excluded from initial vaccine trials, so there is less information on vaccine effectiveness in people of that age. While…

More than 100 people a day are expected to die and more than 1000 a day be admitted to hospital at the peak of the UK’s current wave of covid-19 cases, the government’s scientific advisers are anticipating. Modelling released by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) today gives the first detailed look at the impacts that might stem from around 100,000 cases per day, the number that UK health secretary Sajid Javid has warned the country could hit when restrictions lift in England on 19 July. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different plans for relaxing rules. Cases aren’t…

REPORTS of pet cats and dogs catching covid-19 from their owners are mounting. They come as no surprise to virologist Gary Whittaker. For the past year, he has surveyed cats brought to a veterinary hospital around the corner from New York Presbyterian hospital in Manhattan’s affluent Upper East Side, which was ground zero for covid-19 in the US last spring. His unpublished findings suggest that around 15 to 20 per cent of pet cats in the area have antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19. “Cats are easily exposed,” says Whittaker. Yet most of them are doing fine, as…

IT SEEMS that every time we think we are turning the tide in the coronavirus pandemic, another new variant emerges. The latest threat is the B.1.617.2 variant that is playing a large role in the terrible outbreak in India and is spreading in many other nations. The big question is, will existing vaccines work well enough to prevent major new outbreaks? We already know that several vaccines are somewhat less effective at preventing symptomatic infections by new variants. For B.1.617.2, the drop in efficacy appears to be small, but even a small drop matters when most people are only partially…

Following a change in official guidance in April, people who are breastfeeding in the UK have now been given the green light to receive a covid-19 vaccination. This is great news. But in the absence of any clinical trials proving that it is safe to have a covid-19 vaccine while breastfeeding, the onus appears to be on new parents like me to decide for themselves whether to go ahead and get jabbed. I took a break from nappy changes and nap schedules to find out what research we have to go on. When it comes to safety for breastfed babies,…

IN THE long term, the future is looking bright. Several coronavirus vaccines are proving far more effective than we dared hope, and while some aren’t as effective against new variants, most do still work. In the short term, however, things may get worse before they get better. Despite many countries, including the UK, starting to return to “normality” with the relaxing of restrictions, we now have another dangerous new variant – B.1.617.2, first detected in India – to contend with. It might be even better at spreading than the B.1.1.7 variant from the UK. Even the UK, which has given…

IN THE long term, the future is looking bright. Several coronavirus vaccines are proving far more effective than we dared hope, and while some aren’t as effective against new variants, most do still work. In the short term, however, things may get worse before they get better. Despite many countries, including the UK, starting to return to “normality” with the relaxing of restrictions, we now have another dangerous new variant – B.1.617.2, first detected in India – to contend with. It might be even better at spreading than the B.1.1.7 variant from the UK. Even the UK, which has given…

THE covid-19 pandemic has entered a dangerous new phase, with new variants spreading widely and overwhelming healthcare systems in some countries, such as India. Vaccines promise to bring an end to the pandemic, but with supplies still severely limited, many believe we need to think more wisely about how best to use the doses we have. “Our vaccinations should go to those that are most vulnerable, in most urgent need and where they can make the most difference,” says Krishna Udayakumar at Duke University in North Carolina. That isn’t what is happening. High-income countries have bought the vast majority of…

IN THE long term, the future is looking bright. Several coronavirus vaccines are proving far more effective than we dared hope, and while some aren’t as effective against new variants, most do still work. In the short term, however, things may get worse before they get better. Despite many countries, including the UK, starting to return to “normality” with the relaxing of restrictions, we now have another dangerous new variant – B.1.617.2, first detected in India – to contend with. It might be even better at spreading than the B.1.1.7 variant from the UK. Even the UK, which has given…