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The COVID-19 pandemic has seen evidence and advice evolve quickly. Since the start of the pandemic there has been confusion and concern about breastfeeding and COVID-19, and advice for this group has at times been contradictory. The volume of information on social media has exacerbated this. This study aimed to understand breastfeeding-related COVID-19 information sharing on social media during the global and Australian vaccine roll-out.
The aim of this study was to examine physical activity and sedentary behaviours during Western Australia's COVID-19 lockdown and their association with mental well-being.
Western Australian laboratory data demonstrated a decrease in human metapneumovirus detections through 2020 associated with SARS-CoV-2-related non-pharmaceutical interventions, followed by a subsequent surge in metropolitan region in mid-2021. We aimed to assess the impact of the surge in hMPV on paediatric hospital admissions and the contribution of changes in testing.
Meta-analyses and single-site studies have established that children are less infectious than adults within a household when positive for ancestral SARS-CoV-2. In addition, children appear less susceptible to infection when exposed to ancestral SARS-CoV-2 within a household. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) has been associated with an increased number of paediatric infections worldwide.
Cases identified through mass testing represent only a fraction of infections, depending on the propensity of infected individuals to seek testing. Quantifying the variation in test-seeking behaviour through time or between population subgroups provides important information on testing uptake and supports epidemiological analyses of case data that may otherwise be biased.
Tools that can be used to collect behavioural data during pandemics are needed to inform policy and practice. The objective of this project was to develop the Your COVID-19 Risk tool in response to the global spread of COVID-19, aiming to promote health behaviour change. We developed an online resource based on key behavioural evidence-based risk factors related to contracting and spreading COVID-19. This tool allows for assessing risk and provides instant support to protect individuals from infection.
Pregnant women are a priority group for COVID-19 vaccination due to their vulnerability as a high-risk cohort. However, the currentCOVID-19 vaccine uptake rate for COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant women in Western Australia remains largely unknown.
Many publications have demonstrated the detrimental effects of school closures on children, families and communities in the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there is a surge of Omicron cases as children prepare to return to school around the world. While many children are asymptomatic or have mild disease, it is nevertheless an important problem.
Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has immunomodulatory effects that may provide protection against unrelated infectious diseases. We aimed to determine whether BCG vaccination protects adults against COVID-19.
Some individuals have a persistence of symptoms following both COVID-19 (post-acute COVID-19 syndrome; PACS) and other viral infections. This study used prospectively collected data from an international trial to compare symptoms following COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 respiratory illness, to identify factors associated with the risk of PACS, and to explore symptom patterns before and after COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 respiratory illnesses.