90 per cent of those who died with COVID-19 in Norway also had a chronic disease More than half of them had cardiovascular diseases, according to preliminary numbers from the first three months of the pandemic.
Should you get the flu vaccine this year? The Norwegian Institute of Public Health fears that vulnerable people may be affected by both influenza and COVID-19. They have ordered more than usual of this year's flu vaccine.
Norway has secured access to a COVID-19 vaccine. So what is it actually made of? And what will it take for the vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca to succeed?
How the corona crisis contributes to new types of crime Attacks on health personnel and breaches of infection control laws are dangerous consequences of the way we talk about the pandemic, according to a Norwegian researcher studying media coverage in Latin America.
Flawed experiment sends misleading message about corona-safe gyms OPINION: Without the presence of coronavirus, the researchers’ hypothesis, that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in training facilities with good hygiene and social distancing measures would be low, cannot be tested.
A range of different COVID-19 vaccines are already being tested in humans. But how will the vaccines actually work? SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: At least 200 different vaccines against COVID-19 are under development and more than 20 candidates are being tested on healthy individuals. This gives hope that one or more will give protective immunity. But how are the vaccines designed and are there any obstacles?
Coronavirus and training in gyms: Misunderstandings about Randomized Training Trial OPINION: Joar Vittersø has misunderstood the rationale, design and results of our randomized trial on re-opening of gyms in Norway, write the researchers behind a Norwegian study on the transmission of coronavirus in gyms.
Norwegian coronavirus “experiment” was misleading. People who train in gyms can infect each other with COVID-19. OPINION: An undocumented message about it being safe to work out in gyms during the coronapandemic has been disseminated.
Chinese COVID-19 vaccine candidate gets USD $66 million in development funds The Norwegian-led vaccine coalition called CEPI has contributed USD $66 million to ensure testing of a Chinese vaccine candidate. The agreement will ensure a fair distribution of the vaccine, if it is successful.
Immigrants and men with low incomes and low education levels more likely to die of COVID-19 Men with low incomes, low education and who have never been married are at increased risk of dying from COVID-19. Immigrants from low-income countries are similarly vulnerable, according to a Swedish study.
The coronavirus pandemic has taught us something important: Technocrats are no longer precautionary OPINION: In present-day Sweden, an expert – state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell – is de facto head of state. Tegnell has based his strategy on model projections rather than testing and tracing, and the venture is proving a spectacular failure, writes Emil Flatø
Norwegians are wasting less food since the coronavirus crisis One in five Norwegians are throwing away less food than they used to. Many have also gotten better at cooking, a new survey suggests.
Norway’s coronavirus tracing app halted by Data Protection Authority – too invasive and not useful “This reduces our ability to fight the spread of the virus that is happening now”, warns Camilla Stoltenberg, director of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Public broadcaster's controversial coronavirus article spread disinformation to millions The public broadcaster NRK corrected the original article and published a follow-up. Nonetheless, the contents of their controversial story about the origins of the coronavirus reached millions of people online.
Swedes' trust in their experts may be dropping, meanwhile, Norwegians do not want open borders to their neighbour The Swedes had a great deal of confidence in their coronavirus experts at the start of the pandemic. This is about to change, a recent survey suggests.
The EU’s global response to Covid-19: The challenge of promoting ownership An effective external response to Covid-19 by the EU must be rooted in the requirements and priorities of southern partners, argue Niels Keijzer and David Black.
Here’s how Norway’s public health institute will figure out what to do if the coronavirus flares up again A new mathematical model used by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) is like a tiny laboratory inside a computer, says the head of the institute’s modelling group.
Another brick in the wall: Covid-19 and the crisis of the liberal order Covid-19 risks being another hit to the liberal world order, argues GLOBUS researcher Sonia Lucarelli.
Data on how Norwegians move around allow for a finetuned model of calculating the spread of coronavirus But how accurate are these calculations, and what exactly can they be used for?
Translating economic growth into sustainable development in Africa during Covid-19 EU aid policies in Africa must continue to address the broader challenge of African socio-economic development while dealing with the specific challenges of Covid-19, writes GLOBUS researcher Pundy Pillay.
Learning from corona: Climate change, security and justice Just as the coronavirus, climate change is an existential threat that requires urgent measures. So why are we not treating it with the same kind of urgency, asks GLOBUS researcher Thomas Diez.
The EU and Covid-19: Overcoming the lockdown mindset on migration While the EU seems even less inclined to change its restrictive approach to migration during the coronavirus, the pandemic offers a window of opportunity to advance measures that would fit with the EU’s purported stance as a liberal vanguard in the international landscape, argues GLOBUS researcher Michela Ceccorulli.
Can vitamin D protect you from COVID-19? Several researchers believe we should recommend vitamin D supplements to fight the coronavirus. Some of the cited evidence, however, is produced by researchers sponsored by vitamin-D manufacturers, and one study appears in a predatory journal.
Norwegian-British cancer medicine to be tested on British COVID-19 patients BerGenBio believes it is 80 per cent likely that their bemcentinib pill will help people who are sick with the coronavirus. The pill is now being tested on 120 British patients who have COVID-19.
Can the Coronavirus lead to more peace? SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Researchers have never before seen so many countries declaring a ceasefire because of the same reason.
Norway’s mortality rate during the coronavirus pandemic is probably lower than usual So far this year — during the coronavirus pandemic — the number of deaths in Norway is probably below the mortality rate from the same weeks in previous years.
Norwegian evidence map may be one of the world's most systematic overviews of research on COVID-19 The Norwegian Institute of Public Health is compiling and categorizing global corona research in what will be one of the most complete resources on COVID-19 research in the world. The research map will soon also include quality assessments of the studies.
Record numbers apply to nursing and medical studies during the coronavirus pandemic Never before have so many people applied to universities and university colleges in Norway. Almost every tenth applicant wants to become a nurse. Many also want to become doctors.
Multi-drug resistant bacteria: When the immune system during COVID-19 is attacked from two fronts SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Norwegian COVID-19 patients who get a secondary bacterial infection leading to pneumonia, are better equipped in their struggle against this than Italian patients. Are we doing enough to find new technology against multi-drug resistant bacteria?
Corona crisis packages may result in more layoffs than necessary, economists warn Support for layoffs and cash grants may cause Norwegian companies to slow down more than necessary, says economics professor Ragnar Torvik. He thinks the crisis package measures for businesses should have been designed differently.
Norwegian researchers want to make a universal vaccine covering all coronaviruses It is possible to make a universal vaccine against the flu virus – one that would give broad protection against all the mutations this virus is famous for. Norwegian researchers are now exploring whether the same method can be used for the coronaviruses.
A Norwegian virus app to help stop the spread of COVID-19 Norway will soon launch an app that can notify people if they have been in contact with someone infected by the coronavirus. The app will also allow authorities to monitor the effect of other measures to stop the spread. One in four Norwegians are sceptical, but half of those surveyed said they will download the app.
Professor and immunologist: I don't want COVID-19 SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Anne Spurkland, professor of moleculary immunology, has devoured available research on COVID-19. What she's found, has made her worried: “Give me a vaccine against this virus as soon as possible. “
Norwegian health minister: “We have control over the corona epidemic” According to new numbers, every person infected by the coronavirus in Norway now infects 0,7 others. But this is not a time to ease up on the strict corona measures, warns the health minister.
Here’s how researchers will find out if Norway’s efforts to fight the corona virus work Researchers are surveying what people do and who gets infected, but they won’t be able to say exactly how the coronavirus spreads.
Swedes trust their experts in the coronavirus crisis Many Norwegians shake their heads in disbelief at their neighbour Sweden’s approach to the coronavirus. But Sweden’s population greatly supports the country's corona experts, a recent study suggests.
Quarantining Hungarian Democracy The Covid-19 crisis is exploited by Viktor Orbán to consolidate power and undermine democracy. The increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister has used the pandemic to further authoritarian ends. Democratic backsliding in Hungary has for long been a cause of concern for the European Union.
Global Corona-study led from Norway: Life-saving drugs may be in place this summer The first results from the large WHO-trial on the effects of existing drugs on Covid-19 could be only 3-4 months away, says John-Arne Røttingen, coordinator of the study.
Norwegians support corona measures – but do not trust that the social security system can handle the consequences Only one in five trust that the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) can handle the consequences of the financial crisis that the virus has created.
A revolution in vaccine development – but will we all benefit? OPINION: By manipulating the “instruction manuals” that control cell function in our bodies, we will soon be able to combat many diseases, including the new coronavirus outbreak. But in the worst-case scenario, such innovations will only benefit the rich.
Researchers to test giving blood from recovered coronavirus patients to the sick Researchers at Ullevål University Hospital are reviving a 100-year-old method from the 1918 influenza pandemic.
A Story about the Plague SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: A classic which is perennially up-to-date all of a sudden became urgently topical.
Very low mortality rate from coronavirus in Norway compared to other countries The mortality rate in Norway from Covid-19 is about 0.45 per cent. This is extremely low compared to other countries where the virus is widespread. Why?
Norwegian government: "The goal is to beat the coronavirus epidemic as much as possible" The goal is to delay the spread of infection as much as possible, says Espen Rostrup Nakstad from the Norwegian Directorate of Health. Geir Bukholm from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health says the end point will likely be immunity in the Norwegian population.
Norwegian health official: "We don’t think it's possible to stop the COVID-19 epidemic" Will the coronavirus disappear from Norway after weeks or months of social isolation? Not at all. In all likelihood, there will be more sick and infected people than ever. We have asked Geir Bukholm from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health about what the plan for Norway actually is.
