News and analysis

Vaccines don’t last forever. When they reach their expiration date, the jabs need to be disposed of in a way that ensures they aren’t retrievable. A waste management company explains how this is done.

There are still some COVID figures that people can use to gauge when to mask up or avoid large crowds to decrease their risk of catching the virus.

COVID figures have never captured the full extent of the pandemic, but such numbers are becoming even less useful since fewer people are testing.

Policies to stop the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa have had a negative impact on maternal and newborn health care.

South Africa’s Constitution makes food a human right, but 11% of the country’s people are hungry. Here’s why.

In the United States, the end of national abortion rights could be closer than we think. In South Africa, laws to permit terminations don’t have to be in trouble – people struggle to get abortions anyway.

Unintended pregnancy rates of women aged 15 to 49 years are nearly three times higher in Africa than in Europe or North America. Here are some of the reasons why.

KwaZulu-Natal’s state facilities are in the lead when it comes to stocking HIV prevention medicines (97% of them do), and the Western Cape is last in line at 8%. But, the home of the Mother City is the only province in which men use HIV prevention medicine more than women.

COVID-19 lockdown restrictions meant many therapist offices had to close and cancel in-person appointments. But doctors were able to use videoconferencing to support patients who got anxious, stressed out and depressed.

Social media can be good and bad for children. But the bad can get ugly, though. Some children suffer serious symptoms such as anxiety and attention issues as well. The solutions are simple and cheap, researchers say.

Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame are found in many common foods and drinks, but a new study shows that these food additives could contribute to an increased risk of developing different kinds of cancers.

About a third of the dust in your home is carried in on the soles of people’s shoes, and some of it can be bad for people, such as microplastics or poisonous substances like lead. The solution is pretty simple and the science is clear-cut. Leave your shoes outside.

Lobbyists pushing for vaping as a way to help people quit smoking insist taxing e-cigarettes like traditional smokes will lead down a similar path as the state-sanctioned project of denying HIV treatment to state patients.

Both the United States’s and South Africa’s medicines regulators have faced legal challenges with regards to the information used to review and approve Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. But the rules that bind the two government bodies are different — as is the amount of information they can share.

Successfully talking about sexual health on social media means moving away from fearful and stigmatising messaging. Young people are more likely to engage with information about safe sex if it’s tailored to them and includes visuals.

Just under a third of South Africa’s remaining COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer are set to expire by July. After that, any unused doses will have to be destroyed. Until then the health department is trying to increase uptake of the doses and donate spare shots.