COVID-19

A mobile app showing a user's COVID-19 test result for travel pass
By  Adam Ang 02:11 am September 3, 2021
New Zealand-based Rfider links COVID-19 test with digital health pass for travel New Zealand software firm Rfider has enabled a COVID-19 test in Singapore to connect with a digital health pass for international travel. In a statement, the company said it has been chosen by Invitrocue, a Singapore-based bioanalytic solutions provider, to empower its saliva-based antigen and PCR-based COVID-19...
By  Tammy Lovell 10:42 am September 1, 2021
Researchers at the University of Oxford are seeking NHSX funding for an artificial intelligence (AI) COVID screening test. Results of a three-month evaluation study at John Radcliffe Hospital found the CURIAL-Rapide test could screen emergency department (ED) patients at the bedside within 10 minutes, without needing a laboratory.  Results were available 45 minutes after patients arrived at the...
COVID-19, app, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, Tawakkalna
By  Rachel McArthur 11:44 am August 31, 2021
Students over the age of 12 returning to school or university in Saudi Arabia this week are required to show proof of vaccination via the Kingdom’s COVID-19 tracing application, it has been announced. According to the country’s Ministry of Education, students will only be granted access to school premises subject to being fully immunised against SARS-CoV-2. Vaccination status is available through...
A woman with coffee using her computer
By  Emily Olsen 12:06 pm August 26, 2021
Removing videos that spread misinformation isn’t enough to contain the problem, wrote YouTube’s chief product officer in a blog post. “For COVID, we rely on expert consensus from health organizations like the CDC and WHO to track the science as it develops. In most other cases, misinformation is less clear-cut. By nature, it evolves constantly and often lacks a primary source to tell us exactly...
A close up photo of a woman using a tablet.
By  Emily Olsen 01:48 pm August 25, 2021
Medication abortion administered via telehealth is largely safe and effective, according to a research letter published in JAMA Network Open. TOP LINE DATA The study of 110 patients between October 2020 and January 2021 found 95% had a complete abortion without any additional medical intervention.  Five patients needed medical care to complete the abortion, and two of them were treated in an...
By  Adam Ang 12:05 am August 20, 2021
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in India and the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia have created a rapid method to determine whether a COVID-19 patient is likely to show severe symptoms. WHAT IT'S ABOUT The classification algorithm that was developed is based on infrared spectra of blood plasma acquired using the Agilent Cary 630 FTIR Spectrometer by...
COVID-19, Oravax Medical, Oramed Pharmaceuticals, BriLife, MigVax
By  Tammy Lovell 09:09 am August 17, 2021
Several Israeli companies and academies are working to develop domestic COVID-19 vaccines to protect against variants of the virus. Phase II clinical trials of the novel BriLife coronavirus vaccine, developed by the Defence Ministry’s Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), are currently taking place in Israel and Georgia. Isreal21c reported that US-based NRx Pharmaceuticals will receive...
Affinidi, Etihad Airways, COVID-19, digital vaccine passports, Healthcare Network Assessment
By  Ahmed El Sherif 10:38 am August 13, 2021
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is extending its trial of a COVID-19 travel verification solution provided by the Singapore-based technology company, Affinidi, it has emerged. Since March of this year, Affinidi has been working with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) airline, which has been utilising its Healthcare Network Assessment (HNA) programme on flights from Singapore to Abu Dhabi.  The trial has...
corneal confocal microscopy, COVID-19, long COVID, ophthalmology, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar
By  Rachel McArthur 10:26 am August 13, 2021
New research, released by a team based in Turkey, Qatar, and the United Kingdom, has indicated that a specialised eye exam can be used to identify long COVID. Published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, the research found that corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) – a non-invasive eye test that conducts real-time imaging of corneal nerve fibres – can also potentially be used to confirm...
Panelists at "UpNext: Managing the Message"
By  Jonah Comstock 06:10 pm August 12, 2021
When social media companies like Facebook and YouTube were founded, it’s a good bet that their founders didn’t imagine themselves to be creating public health tools. But in the face of a global pandemic, it’s become obvious that that’s exactly what they created. And as far as health leaders at these companies are concerned, that’s a good thing. “As someone who’s been in public health for about 20...