Health Alerts

The US CDC has updated its COVID-19 page on how SARS-CoV-2 spreads, noting that information is still incomplete, however while it may be possible to be infected ‘by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes … is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads’.

Results from the phase 1 trials of a recombinant COVID-19 vaccine now underway in Melbourne and Brisbane are expected in July – 131 healthy people aged between 18 and 59 have signed up to participate in the trials. Read more

The WHO has temporarily paused trials on the use of Hydroxychloroquine in the clinical management of COVID-19 after results of a study of observational data from 96,000 patients were published in The Lancet last week. The decision on whether to resume trials will be made after a review by the Data Safety Monitoring Board. The agency has now posted Q&A: Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 on its website.