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Children in the UK may be more at risk of infections and other health complications this winter compared with previous years

Flu, RSV and cost of living will all harm UK child health this winter

23 November 2022

Seasonal infections are set to spike, while the cost-of-living crisis is also expected to affect some children’s mental and physical health

The omicron sub-variant BQ.1.1 has mutations that may help it to spread and perhaps evade past immunity

A soup of omicron subvariants could drive the next covid-19 wave

31 October 2022

The subvariants BQ.1.1 and XBB may somewhat evade prior immunity, however, further research is required

The uptake of covid-19 vaccines varies substantially between children aged 12 to 15 in England

Covid jab rates vary in England in children of different ethnicities

17 October 2022

In England, 15.8 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 from Gypsy or Roma ethnic groups have received at least one vaccine dose, compared with 83.5 per cent of their counterparts in Chinese ethnic groups

Fewer than expected boys were born in England and Wales three months after lockdown was introduced

Fewer boys born in England and Wales in early stage of the pandemic

4 October 2022

The covid-19 pandemic has been linked to a decline in the proportion of male babies being born, in line with previous findings that fewer boys are born after population-wide stressful events

Being vaccinated against the coronavirus may reduce the risk of long covid with a breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection

Coronavirus vaccines could cut the risk of long covid by two-fifths

28 September 2022

Being vaccinated against the coronavirus can cut the risk of having long covid symptoms 12 weeks after the infection by 41 per cent

A pharmacist administers a flu vaccine ahead of the UK's 2022/23 flu season

NHS invites 12 million people to have booster to ward off 'twindemic'

27 September 2022

Last year's warnings about a particularly bad flu season didn't materialise, but an earlier and more severe outbreak in Australia doesn't bode well for the northern hemisphere

A coloured scanning electron micrograph of a cell (green) infected with the omicron variant of the coronavirus (purple)

The omicron coronavirus variant may protect against flu

19 September 2022

In a laboratory study, the H1N1 seasonal flu virus didn't take hold in bronchial cells containing the omicron coronavirus variant, but the flu virus did replicate in cells containing the delta variant

An increased number of girls are going through premature sexual development amid the pandemic

Covid-19 pandemic linked to early onset of puberty in some girls

17 September 2022

Several studies suggest that the number of girls starting puberty early has more than doubled amid the coronavirus outbreak - and experts are unsure exactly why

In severe cases, covid-19 may cause certain neurological and psychiatric conditions for up to two years post-infection

Covid-19 linked to higher risk of brain conditions up to two years on

18 August 2022

The risk of being diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric condition up to two years after catching covid-19 may be higher than with other respiratory infections, such as seasonal influenza

More than half of people who are infected with omicron may be unaware they are carrying the virus

More than half of people infected with omicron may not know it

17 August 2022

Out of 210 people who had antibodies suggesting they had recently had the covid-19 omicron variant, more than half were unaware they were carrying the virus