Dengue risk for international travellers from the UK

Spread of mpox: UK guidance

On 14 August, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the recent mpox outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The declaration was given at the recommendation of an...

Vaccine mandates

Almost a decade ago, Cunningham (2015) acknowledged vaccination as one of the major medical advances of modern times but added that ‘public health officials have become intoxicated by success and have...

Prescribing hepatitis A vaccines in the UK

Infected people shed hepatitis A virus in their faeces and are most infectious 1–2 weeks before they get any clinical signs and symptoms, such as jaundice or raised liver enzymes (when virus...

Vaccine safety

Sometimes it is worth stating the obvious: ‘The development of safe and highly effective vaccines during the latter half of the 20th century has been one of medicine's greatest achievements …...

Drug updates: December

Draft guidance, published on the 18 November, is the first time NICE has made recommendations about the use of an HIV treatment since these came under NICE's remit in 2019. It is estimated that...

Overcoming vaccine hesitancy

I'm sure you have all read the more outlandish and outright illogical arguments for not having the COVID-19 vaccine, and these don't really warrant touching upon in a healthcare journal, but there are...

Medicines reconciliation of biologics on a primary care clinical system

DMARDs (Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs) such as methotrexate, azathioprine and leflunomide, licensed in dermatological, gastrointestinal and rheumatic conditions are not strictly biologics....

A time for reflection

This has been a month of progress and reflection here in the United Kingdom. As restrictions start to lift after many difficult months of lockdown, I'm sure, like me, you find yourselves having to...

Antimicrobial prescribing in SARS-CoV-2

In this article by Stevens et al (2020) we start to see some early evidence looking at the rate and spectrum of antibiotic prescribing being collected in a single centre study.

COVID-19 research and non-vaccine treatment

Herpes simplex: treatment and vaccination

‘The apparent readiness with which individuals with genital herpes are willing to participate in trials of antiviral agents and possible vaccines may stem from the association of genital herpes with...