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When COVID-19 first broke out, we knew so little compared to now. But it was an eery and scary feeling to realise that we were at the beginning of a pandemic and yet governments and WHO were not acknowledging that. When the situation escalated in March 2020, Tanya Nolan from ABC NEWS, came up with the idea of Coronacast – a short daily podcast – sensing that the audience needed answers and demystification. Will Ockenden, our producer, came up with the title, we brought on Tegan Taylor my colleague from ABC Science, and we were off! Back then, we had no idea it would still be going today. We thought we’d be done and dusted – on the dust cart of history in a month or two. Just goes to show how long three people can push a dust cart.
COVID is playing out pretty much the same way all pandemics have for thousands of years. That’s what has allowed us to make predictions. We’ve just taken a look at the history of pandemics and public health text books.
Questions are still circulating about the risks of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines and there’s still some fear of the unknown. To put things in perspective... if you catch COVID, there’s around a one in three chance of long COVID, around a 1 in 50 chance of ending up in the ICU and a 1 in 100 chance of dying, depending on your age. Whereas the risk of dying from the blood clotting syndrome (AstraZeneca) is one in a million or thereabouts and the heart inflammation from Pfizer about 1 in 50,000.
My top tips for getting to the lockdown finish line are social contact via ZOOM. Get outside as much as you’re allowed. Make your exercise as intense as you can safely as that will elevate your mood, plus when you binge watch a series don’t choose one that’s too dark. And, cook a lot.
Have a great weekend, and remember you can stay across the latest Coronavirus news on Coronacast.
All the best,
Dr. Norman Swan |
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Hearing a killer song from a brand-new band is one of the purest joys of being a music fan.
Big debut singles can shift the needle on where music is headed. They can open dialogues that have always been closed. They are a glimpse into the future, not just of music, but of our culture.
On Saturday 18 September, you can listen live here in the ABC listen app as Double J counts down The 50 Best Debut Singles. From midday they'll play 50 songs from artists who got it right the first time, changing everything in the process. |
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