Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
comorbiditieslatest news & developments
To the rescue: In Barcelona, a man wearing face mask walks by a work by Italian street artist TvBoy named The Three Vaccines, depicting the graces dressed in AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer labels, which consciously references Raphael’s classic painting The Three Graces. (Josep Lago/AFP)
AGE

Vaccine hesitant? An expert answers questions people have

Safety, side-effects and the jargon-filled scientific information explained for those who have concerns about getting vaccinated

  • Chris Bateman
6 min read
A new international study has shown that obesity or an increased body mass index (BMI) is not associated with increased mortality in Covid-19 patients. (Photo by Varuth Pongsapipatt/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
BODY MASS INDEX

Study finds obesity is not associated with Covid-19 deaths

But an increased BMI remains a continuous risk-factor in Covid-19 patients being admitted to ICU

  • Eyaaz Matwadia
2 min read
Covid-19 patients arrive to the Wakefield Campus of the Montefiore Medical Center on April 06, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. A specialised bus known as a Medical Evacuation Transport Unit (METU), carries patients on stretchers and benches. The patient transfers are designed to help overwhelmed hospitals even out caseloads in Westchester County and New York City at the epicentre of the US coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution link in 15% of global Covid-19 deaths

Researchers have found that, because ambient fine particulate air pollution aggravates comorbidities, it could play a factor in coronavirus fatalities

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
There will be no HIV cure without Africa’s involvement. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
2020 WHO TB REPORT

Covid-19 disrupts HIV and TB services

While data is still trickling in on how much the pandemic affects health systems, there are far-reaching consequences for people living with HIV and tuberculosis.

  • Pontsho Pilane
3 min read
Relieved: Nomthandazo Makhubela is happy that all grades are now back at school. (Paul Botes/M&G)
CHILD HUNGER

Open schools mean full tummies as feeding schemes resume

About four in five learners in the country’s poorest schools rely on the one meal they receive at school, but they weren’t able to get it for more than four months, during which…

  • Pontsho Pilane
6 min read
Sibongile Sithole. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
ANTI DIET DIETITIAN

Othering fatness: Medical professionals’ negative bias towards fat people jeopardises the quality of care

Pontsho Pilane speaks to three women who have found it difficult to access quality healthcare because of medical professionals’ weight bias

  • Pontsho Pilane
8 min read
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde. (David Harrison/M&G)
ALAN WINDE

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde tests positive for coronavirus

Alan Winde admits he is in a vulnerable group when it comes to contracting the virus, considering he is 55 years old, and a diabetic

  • Lester Kiewit
2 min read
Rites: Whose lives matter? (Paul Botes/M&G)
AGE

Eusebius McKaiser: How do we decide whose lives matter most?

The way Covid-19 death facts are reported (age and comorbidities) reflects how old people and those with chronic conditions are valued. Scientifically there’s an argument for…

  • Eusebius McKaiser
6 min read