Health

Poland’s total COVID-19 death toll passes 100,000 amid fourth wave

Poland’s total number of coronavirus-related deaths surpassed 100,000 on Tuesday, the health minister said, as the country grapples with a fourth wave of the pandemic.

The number of deaths per one million inhabitants was last week among the highest in the world, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford, at more than 57 compared to around 34 in the US and 38 in Russia.
Visit our dedicated coronavirus section for the latest updates.

“Today we can say it is another sad day, but especially so because we have passed the level of 100,000 COVID deaths,” Adam Niedzielski told private broadcaster TVN 24.

Poland has been grappling with a consistently high number of daily COVID-19 cases. Although it has not reported a spike in cases caused by the omicron variant of the virus, it imposed fresh restrictions in December to curb the spread of infection.

As of Monday, the health ministry estimates that the omicron variant accounted for between 7 and 8 percent of new daily cases.

Niedzielski said that Poland would report around 11,400 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and 493 deaths related to the disease.

Poland reported 794 COVID-related deaths in one day in late December, while the highest daily toll during the pandemic overall stands at 954, hit in April last year.

Rapid testing for omicron: is a nose swab enough?

‘Deltacron’ likely result of lab error: Experts

Health

‘Just in case’ use of antibiotics was rife during COVID-19, says UN health agency

Antibiotics saw “extensive overuse” globally among hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the pandemic without improving clinical outcomes, while also potentially exacerbating the already serious and growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Health

Teen alcohol and nicotine use in Europe is up, WHO urges preventive measures

Substance use is on the rise among teenagers in Europe, Central Asia and Canada and girls now match or even exceed boys when it comes to smoking and drinking, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report on Thursday.

Health

Gender therapy review reveals devastating impacts on teens

A top Human Rights Council-appointed expert has welcomed the decision by all health authorities in the United Kingdom to halt the routine use of puberty-blockers offered to children as part of gender transition services, amid a sharp increase more widely in the number of teenage girls seeking such treatment and concerns that it might disrupt brain development.