Dr Siouxsie Wiles. Photo / Arvid Eriksson
Covid-19 expert Dr Siouxsie Wiles is taking on the University of Auckland in the Employment Court this week.
The three-week hearing follows complaints to the Employment Relations Authority, claiming the university employer failed to respond adequately to safety concerns arising from harassment and threats from the public.
An earlier determination, in 2021, noted Sean Hendy (a professor at the university at that time) and Wiles (an associate professor) suffered vitriolic, unpleasant, and deeply personalised threats impacting their physical safety and mental health.
Wiles was the victim of doxxing - the act of publishing revealing personal details online - while Hendy was physically confronted at his university office. (Hendy is no longer part of proceedings. He resolved his differences with the university when he left for a new role with Toha NZ in October last year).
The university denies unjustifiably disadvantaging the academics or breaching its statutory obligations.
On top of determining the limits of the universitys obligation to respond adequately to safety concerns, the case spotlights academic freedom.
Academia is unlike most professions, which typically bind employees through sweeping dont mar our reputation policies.
Instead, the Education and Training Act 2020 says universities are required to accept a role as critic and conscience of society. Academic freedom is defined as the freedom to question the status quo and put forward new ideas and opinions, irrespective of controversy or popularity.
As a concept, academic freedom prescribes universities and academics with protections to question the status quo without fear of retribution or government persuasion.
In 1997, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation released its Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personel.
[The right to education, teaching and research can only be fully enjoyed in an atmosphere of academic freedom and autonomy for institutions of higher education and that the open communication of findings, hypotheses and opinions lies at the very heart of higher education and provides the strongest guarantee of the accuracy and objectivity of scholarship and research, the recommendation reads.
The leading case law stems from Rigg v University of Waikato in 1984. The case involved a dismissal linked to an article in the student magazine, Nexus, alleging the university failed to effectively oversee a laboratory, which possibly resulted in students dying of cancer. The article also claimed the university concealed the matter to safeguard its reputation.
The case clarified that academics could criticise universities, but could not do so willy-nilly.
Instead, academic freedom required elements of truth, sincerity or good faith, and consideration for others.
In 2006, Lally v The Vice-Chancellor Victoria University of Wellington involved an associate professor who was a support person during a disciplinary process. The academic later described the process as deficient in an email addressed to about 200 people.
The vice-chancellor didnt reply all, instead writing a response to the associate professor acknowledging the academics right to raise concerns but taking issue with the nature of the delivery.
You should be aware that if you breach this instruction then disciplinary action could follow, the letter read.
The group of about 200 people received another email, this time including the vice-chancellors instructions.
Disciplinary action followed, and the applicant issued a personal grievance. Although the vice-chancellors instruction was deemed unreasonable, the ERA found the academics conduct didnt constitute academic freedom as a disinterested observer could conclude the academics penchant to press send all wasnt constructive nor intended to improve understanding.
[T]his is a case in which I would have no hesitation in otherwise applying 100 per cent contributory fault, the determination read. Ouch.
These cases described what wasnt academic freedom in the context of keeping academics in line, giving no insight into its parameters. In contrast, this months hearing is quite the headache.
Here, the University of Auckland has argued academic freedom would not apply because Wiles and Hendys Covid-19 commentaries were done in a personal capacity.
The 2021 determination highlighted a letter from the university that asked the academics to keep their public commentary to a minimum and to take paid leave to minimise any social media comments at present. Activity outside of work hours could - in theory - potentially limit the extent of the universitys duty to address safety concerns.
The counterargument involves the possibility that Covid-19 was academic freedom in action and central to the academics work. Any suggestions to limit commentary could be seen as an attempt to stifle said freedoms, with the added insult of being harmed in the process.
What does this mean? The Employment Court has its work cut out for it.
Wellington-based freelancer Sasha Borissenko did a law degree at Otago University followed by a masters (hons) in journalism at Massey University.
The era of lockdowns, mandatory mask wearing, and daily case number updates seems long gone, but COVID has not yet left our shores.
Case numbers have increased in every state and territory in the last reporting period, with health authorities saying it marks the beginning of a new wave of infections.
Here'sthe latest on COVID in Australia and how the government will be releasing figures from now on.
COVID-19 cases havebeen gradually increasing since mid to late August, according to the federal health department.
National data tracks cases on a rolling seven-day average which is calculated by dividing the week's figures by seven rather than reporting daily totals.
In the week ending October 24, 6,550 cases of COVID-19 were reported across Australia, an average of 936 cases aday.
This marked an increase of 23.6 per cent on the previous week.
Here's a rundown of the latest COVID advice.
The graph below shows a snapshot of what's happening right now with COVID case numbers in Australia.
Federal health figures show new case numbers taking a sharp dip at the end of September before bouncing back, with numbers rising throughout October.
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But, when you compare that to the graph below which reports the numbers from January 2022, it's clear to see the number of recorded cases are much lower than they werelast year.
However, it's also important to note that these graphs only chartconfirmed COVID-19 cases, which may be much lower than the actual number of cases due to a drop in mandatory reporting.
National COVID-related hospitalisations have also begun climbing since late August.
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In mid-October, health officials announcedCOVID-19 was no longer a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance (CDINS).
Shortly after the federal governmentdecided to end the country's COVID-19 emergency response, announcing nationalCOVID-19 reporting would shift from weekly to monthly.
"The removal of the CDINS declaration will not have any significant impact on the ongoing management of COVID-19 in Australia, given that most of the national coordination and response measures have already ended," Australia's chief medical officer Paul Kelly said.
The final weekly COVID update was from October 24.
In a statement, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee said "the availability and reliability of particular metrics, such as case information, has decreased".
Week-to-week changes in data "do not demonstrate clear trends" and a reduced reporting frequency would allow "more meaningful assessments" of disease transmission and impact over time.
New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria COVID updates are reported monthly via the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care website.
That depends on a few things:
The advice on boosters comes from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
In September, ATAGI recommended all adults aged 75 and over get another booster if they hadn't had one in the past six months.
It also advised the following groups to talk to their doctor about whether they needed a second booster for the year:
It said it didn't recommend another booster shot for younger people or older adults who'd already had a booster this year.
Before September, ATAGI put out a booster reminder in February.
Back then, it recommended all adults aged 65 or older get a booster dose if it had been six months since their last vaccine or infection.
The same advice was put out for adults aged 18 to 64 who had medical comorbidities that increase their risk of severe COVID-19, or disability with significant or complex health needs.
At the time, it only advised people in the following groups to consider a booster shot:
On October 26, Victoria's acting chief health officer Christian McGrath announced community transmission of COVID-19 had increased to levels not observed since May.
Dr McGrath has suggested all Melburnians consider donning masks again in public places.
According to NSW Health, Sydney could be facing a "COVID Christmas" for the third year in a row.
Data shows COVID is currently circulating at moderate levels across the state, but wastewater surveillance, emergency department presentations, and outbreaks in aged care facilities suggest the virus is on the rise again.
NSW Health's director of Communicable Diseases, Dr Christine Selvey, says modelling suggests a new wave of COVID will peak into December.
Dr Selvey only went as far as recommending face masksin public if symptomatic.
Published: 03 November 2023
Research supported by the NIHRs Biomedical Research Centre in Exeter shows that brain health in people over 50 deteriorated more rapidly during the pandemic. This was true regardless of whether they had COVID-19.
Researchers analysed brain function tests completed by more than 3,000 people based in the UK. Respondents were aged between 50 and 90. The results showed that cognitive decline quickened significantly in the first year of the pandemic. There was a 50% change to the rate of decline across the study group during this time. This figure was higher in those who already had mild cognitive decline before the pandemic.
This trend continued into the second year of the pandemic. This suggests there was an impact beyond the initial 12-month period of lockdowns. The research has been published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
The cognitive decline seems to have been exacerbated by a number of factors during the pandemic, including:
Physical activity and treating existing depression can help reduce dementia risk. Getting back into the community and reconnecting with people, can also help maintain brain health.
The 3,000 participants had taken part in the online PROTECT study. It was led by teams at the University of Exeter and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at Kings College London. The study tested participants short-term memory and ability to complete complex tasks.
The PROTECT study is part of the NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centres world-leading Neurodegeneration research theme. The study is a partnership with Kings College London, the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula. The Exeter BRC has five core research themes aimed at translating scientific discoveries swiftly into benefits to patients.
Anne Corbett, Professor of Dementia Research and PROTECT Study Lead at the University of Exeter, said: "Our findings suggest that lockdowns and other restrictions we experienced during the pandemic have had a real lasting impact on brain health in people aged 50 or over, even after the lockdowns ended. This raises the important question of whether people are at a potentially higher risk of cognitive decline which can lead to dementia. It is now more important than ever to make sure we are supporting people with early cognitive decline, especially because there are things they can do to reduce their risk of dementia later on. So if you are concerned about your memory the best thing to do is to make an appointment with your GP and get an assessment.
Our findings also highlight the need for policy-makers to consider the wider health impacts of restrictions like lockdowns when planning for a future pandemic response."
Professor Dar Aarsland, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at Kings IoPPN, said: This study adds to the knowledge of the long-standing health-consequences of COVID-19, in particular for vulnerable people such as older people with mild memory problems. We know a great deal of the risks for further decline, and now can add COVID-19 to this list. On the positive note, there is evidence that life-style changes and improved health management can positively influence mental functioning. The current study underlines the importance of careful monitoring of people at risk during major events such as the pandemic.
The PROTECT study is conducted entirely online and is open to new participants aged 40 and over. To find out more, visit the study website.
NIHR has also awarded 1.9 million in funding to develop a new app to monitor brain health in older people. The app is being developed as part of the PROTECT study.
The aim of this study is to help reach people with early cognitive impairment who currently do not get seen by a GP or memory clinic. This is to ensure that those who are in most need are seen as a priority.
Brain health in over 50s deteriorated more rapidly during the pandemic, even if they didn't have COVID-19, according to major new research linking the pandemic to sustained cognitive decline.
Researchers looked at results from computerised brain function tests from more than 3,000 participants of the online PROTECT study, who were aged between 50 and 90 and based in the UK. The remote study, led by teams at the University of Exeter and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, tested participants' short term memory and ability to complete complex tasks.
Through analysing the results from this big dataset, researchers found that cognitive decline quickened significantly in the first year of the pandemic, when they found a 50 per cent change to the rate of decline across the study group. This figure was higher in those who already had mild cognitive decline before the pandemic, according to the research published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
This continued into the second year of the pandemic, suggesting an impact beyond the initial 12-month period of lockdowns. The researchers believe this sustained impact to be particularly relevant to ongoing public health and health policy.
The cognitive decline seems to have been exacerbated by a number of factors during the pandemic, including an increase in loneliness and depression, a decrease in exercise and higher alcohol consumption. Previous research has found that physical activity, treating existing depression, getting back into the community and reconnecting with people, are all important ways to reduce dementia risk and maintain brain health.
Anne Corbett, Professor of Dementia Research and PROTECT Study Lead at the University of Exeter, said: "Our findings suggest that lockdowns and other restrictions we experienced during the pandemic have had a real lasting impact on brain health in people aged 50 or over, even after the lockdowns ended. This raises the important question of whether people are at a potentially higher risk of cognitive decline which can lead to dementia. It is now more important than ever to make sure we are supporting people with early cognitive decline, especially because there are things they can do to reduce their risk of dementia later on. So if you are concerned about your memory the best thing to do is to make an appointment with your GP and get an assessment.
"Our findings also highlight the need for policy-makers to consider the wider health impacts of restrictions like lockdowns when planning for a future pandemic response."
Professor Dar Aarsland, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at King's IoPPN, said "This study adds to the knowledge of the long-standing health-consequences of COVID-19, in particular for vulnerable people such as older people with mild memory problems. We know a great deal of the risks for further decline, and now can add COVID-19 to this list. On the positive note, there is evidence that life-style changes and improved health management can positively influence mental functioning. The current study underlines the importance of careful monitoring of people at risk during major events such as the pandemic."
The PROTECT study, a partnership with King's College, London, is part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research Exeter Biomedical Research Centre's world-leading Neurodegeneration theme research. The Centre, a partnership between The University of Exeter and the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust alongside other NHS organisations, has five core research themes aimed at translating scientific discoveries swiftly into benefits to patients.
The paper is entitled 'Cognitive decline in older adults during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of the PROTECT UK study data' and is published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
The PROTECT study is conducted entirely online and is open to new participants aged 40 and over. To find out more, visit: https://www.protectstudy.org.uk
Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and other restrictions have had a real, lasting impact on the brain health of people over the age of 50, researchers have suggested.
Researchers from the United Kingdoms University of Exeter and Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at Kings College London analysed brain function tests from more than 3,000 people who took part in the so-called Protect Study, launched in 2014 to gain an insight into the brain function of people over 40 over a 25-year period.
The group the researchers assessed, based in the UK, was aged between 50 and 90.
The team compared data from March 2019 and February 2020 to data collected during the pandemics first year (March 2020 to February 2021) and second year (March 2021 to February 2022).
5 nutrients good for brain health that can delay dementia, or prevent it
The pattern continued into the pandemics second year, which researchers said suggests an impact beyond the initial national lockdowns in the UK in 2020 and 2021.
Our findings suggest that lockdowns and other restrictions we experienced during the pandemic have had a real, lasting impact on brain health in people aged 50 or over, even after the lockdowns ended, says Anne Corbett, professor of dementia research and Protect Study lead at the University of Exeter.
She adds that it is now more important than ever to make sure people showing signs of early cognitive decline are supported.
If you are concerned about your memory, the best thing to do is to make an appointment with your [family doctor] and get an assessment, Corbett says.
How 21-day quarantine damages mental health, with long-lasting effects
Our findings also highlight the need for policymakers to consider the wider health impacts of restrictions like lockdowns when planning for a future pandemic response.
We know a great deal of the risks for further decline, and now can add Covid-19 to this list.
The findings have been published in the medical journal The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
People who endured childhood adversity, like abuse or neglect, were more likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19 in adulthood, a new University of Pittsburgh study found. Specifically, higher self-reported childhood adversity was linked to 12-25% higher odds of COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality.
While age, sex, ethnicity, health, and sociodemographic factors have been related to such outcomes throughout the pandemic, this was the first study finding a link between these COVID-19 outcomes and childhood neglect and abuse.
Using the UK Biobank in Great Britain, a team -; lead by Jamie L. Hanson, a researcher in Pitt's Learning Research & Development Center and an assistant professor in psychology in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences -; took a deep dive into information provided by more than 151,200 adults of middle age or older. What the numbers showed was that people who reported "adversity" such as abuse or neglect while children were more likely to die or be hospitalized from COVID-19.
The study was published Nov. 1 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the British Medical Association's journal focusing on different social determinants of health.
"These findings highlight how trauma early in life can have long-lasting impacts on health decades later," Hanson said. "We know that COVID-19 is related to excessive hospitalization and death in the UK and in the United States. And there's emerging research finding that facing adversity, abuse or neglect, early in life, could have sizeable effects on physical health.
"But no one had tried to connect these two trends. Knowing a bit more about someone's early development could be important to help reduce disparities in COVID-19."
While Hanson and his co-authors maintain that their work opens the door for more pinpointed and global studies, they believe their findings show there could be a need for policies and interventions to lessen COVID-19 impacts in people who have suffered from such childhood adversity.
We may need targeted interventions for individuals and certain communities affected by childhood adversity to lessen the pandemic's lasting impact. Adversity may lead to risk for negative outcomes and the potential to have long-COVID. We need to complete more work to understand how adversity gets 'under the skin' and increases vulnerability to poor health after COVID-19 infections."
Jamie L. Hanson, researcher in Pitt's Learning Research & Development Center
In other words, as the co-authors wrote, not just COVID-19 but such findings could be used "to limit adversity-related negative outcomes with future pandemics."
Source:
Journal reference:
Hanson, J. L., et al. (2023) Childhood adversity and COVID-19 outcomes in the UK Biobank. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. doi.org/10.1136/jech-2023-221147.
With fall well under way and winter soon upon us, public health officials are expecting COVID-19 cases to climb, along with the flu and RSV.
Two COVID-19 variants now being closely monitored are HV.1 and JN.1.
During the week ending October 28, HV.1 rose to become the prevailing strain, accounting for just over one-quarter of all COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). EG.5, which had been dominant two weeks prior, has fallen to the No. 2 spot, making up about 22 percent of current infections.
As the COVID-19 virus continues to rapidly mutate, the CDC is also keeping close tabs on the emerging JN.1 variant, which was first detected in September 2023 in the United States, and has been spotted in 11 other countries.
Eric Topol, MD, the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, has said on X (formerly known as Twitter) that JN.1 is separating from the pack with possible enhanced contagiousness. He wrote in his Substack newsletter Ground Truths, however, that we wont know for a few weeks as to whether JN.1 will be linked with a significant rise in cases or how much immune protection prior infection and vaccination will provide.
What we do know is that both these variants appear to be highly transmissible but not the cause of more severe illness, says William Schaffner, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Schaffner notes that these variants could be viewed as the grandchildren of the omicron variant, and as such, he expects the latest vaccine formulation to prevent infected people from getting extremely sick and needing to be hospitalized.
As of the end of October, JN.1 has been detected so rarely that it makes up fewer than 0.1 percent of COVID infections in the United States, notes the CDC.
The variant, however, has shown a very fast growth rate in other parts of the world since it was first identified in Luxembourg at the end of August.
Shaun Truelove, PhD, an assistant scientist in the division of global disease epidemiology and control at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, highlights Iceland as an example. Here JN.1 has quickly spread to make up about 70 percent of COVID-19 infections, according to Dr. Truelove.
He further points out that JN.1 has a distinct mutation that may help it better evade immunity compared with previous strains.
The virus is constantly evolving, constantly trying to escape whatever immunity we have, says Truelove.
As part of a multi-institution team that runs the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, Truelove expects the United States to see cases continue to rise in the weeks ahead with infections hitting a high in the first month of the new year.
Every single January of this pandemic has been a seasonal peak, he says. Its been extremely consistent. Although recents peaks have been dramatically lower than earlier in the pandemic, the numbers are still much larger than we experience with the flu every year.
With that in mind, health authorities are encouraging the public to get the newest vaccine.
The best thing we have to combat the virus is the vaccine, says Schaffner. Unfortunately, relatively few people have received it so far [7 percent of adults and 2 percent of children, per the CDC]. So Im really worried about what will happen as a consequence of the holidays and all the travel and family gatherings.
He underscores that the vaccine can be especially vital in protecting those most vulnerable, including the elderly and those who are immune-compromised (such as those who are getting chemotherapy for cancer or patients with rheumatic diseases who are taking monoclonal antibodies).
Truelove also encourages people to stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines because if you do still get infected, symptoms should be milder and not as long-lasting.
You not only dont want to be that one person who gets hospitalized or dies, you also dont want to be the person whos out of work for a week or out of school, he says.
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