What's That Rash?
Episodes
What will winter bring as the sibling of Omicron rises?
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The sub-variant of Omicron, known at the moment as BA2, is being blamed for a rise in cases in NSW and likely in other states and territories.And ove...
How many people had COVID before me?
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Occasionally, Coronacast gets a question from the audience that not only stumps them, it stumps the expert scientists as well.And this week, that que...
What's COVID doing to your brain?
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A study has found that COVID is associated with changes to the human brain in some people after they've been infected.The study, published in the jou...
Rethinking the lab escape theory
06 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Did COVID escape from a lab? Was it natural evolution? How did it happen? These are all very big questions that scientists have been working on answe...
Australia is one again! So how are we tracking?
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Western Australia has reopened its border after more than a year of staying shut off from the world as part of its COVID control strategy.While peopl...
Are kids getting vaccinated too slowly?
27 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last year was all about the push to vaccinate adults and teens against COVID-19, and despite a slow start we certainly got there in the end.Now this ...
How wars can supercharge pandemics
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout history, war and disease have gone hand in hand.As the Russian/Ukrainian war escalates, it's still too early to know what effect it'll hav...
Restrictions finally easing up. Are they gone for good?
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More and more states and territories are slowly removing restrictions, and letting people try to return to a sense of a normal life.Victoria yesterda...
I'm worried about how worried I am
20 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As we move to the next phases of the pandemic, there are many people who are yet to make the psychological jump and mental readjustment to a differen...
Exponential growth gets there eventually
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's taken several weeks, but the number of new COVID-19 cases in Western Australia is now increasing rapidly.At the start of February, WA had a 7-da...
Four scenarios for the pandemic's next phase
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So, where's this pandemic actually heading? It's a good question and quite hard to answer as... well... no one can tell you the future.But experts ha...
How do we sidestep the next pandemic?
13 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When COVID burst onto the scene in late 2019, it came as a shock to most of the world's population and we've all been dealing with it ever since.But ...
It's OFFICIAL: you now need THREE doses
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For months now, experts have been saying we'll need three doses to be protected from coronavirus, especially the Omicron variant. And now, it's offic...
An unexpected COVID crisis
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Two years into the pandemic, we're still discovering new things about COVID almost daily.The latest is what COVID can do to your heart, a year after ...
How will fancy new antivirals help fight COVID?
06 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to ways to fight COVID-19, vaccines have been the main tool we've used so far during the pandemic.But new antivirals are being produced...
Wishful thinking and the end of the pandemic
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the Omicron wave continues to subside, there's the temptation to hope that now that it's over, the whole pandemic is done.And while we can dream t...
The brothers and sisters of Omicron
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Looking at the family tree of coronavirus is a bit like taking a trip down memory lane.The whole crew is there including the famous ones like Alpha, ...
The great big lull after Omicron
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the scary peaks in all states and territories in Australia, except WA, seems to be behind us, there is now a new sense of calm.Daily coronavirus c...
Is the death rate too high?
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The number of people dying from COVID hit a record high this week, as large case numbers continue in most states and territories.It comes as no surpr...
Is Omicron the last variant?
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're all no doubt very tired of the pandemic by now and could be forgiven for hoping now that Omicron has landed in Australia, once we get over the ...
We're back! Now, when will the outbreak peak?!
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Well, that escalated quickly.When Coronacast left you last year, there were nearly 4000 national daily cases. Yesterday, there were more than 72,000 ...
See ya 2021. What does 2022 have in store?
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a massive year for coronavirus and COVID-19. There have been outbreaks, lockdowns and a pile of new variants.But there have also been massi...
Wowsers, 25,000 cases a day?
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As COVID numbers continue to rapidly increase in NSW - likely due to the Omicron variant - we're being warned that modelling is pointing to 25,000 ca...
Is NSW going to the dogs? (And does it matter?)
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There was a large jump in COVID cases in NSW yesterday, and while we're largely moving on from day to day case numbers - this one is worth talking ab...
All our (travel) bubbles are bursting. What comes next?
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After nearly two years of constant internal border changes, by the end of this week large parts of Australia will once again be open for domestic tra...
Why is the Moderna booster a half shot?
12 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australia now has two different booster options to choose from when the inevitable time comes for the third dose of coronavirus vaccine.Moderna was a...
All roads lead to third doses
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the data from initial studies into how Omicron evades our immunity continue to flow in, it's becoming more and more likely that a third dose - or ...
Omicron evades vaccines, but not all is lost
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of the first studies into Omicron and immunity has reported back and it's not super great news: there's significant evasion of antibodies produce...
Do vaccinated people get long COVID?
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Beyond the nasty and sometimes life-threatening symptoms that COVID can bring, there's another risk: long COVID. It's the collection of prolonged sym...
When (and how) will we know if Omicron is taking over?
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over the next several months, the fight between Delta and Omicron is going to be scientifically fascinating.In the red corner is the current world ch...
Omicron's latest clues are a bit concerning
05 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a bit more than a week since we learned of Omicron, the newest coronavirus variant of concern.And while we're still a while from knowing so...
Pfizer, Moderna, au naturale? What works best!
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Just like we're likely going to be stuck with COVID for the rest of our lives, we're probably also going to be stuck wondering which is the most effe...
Can Omicron evade our vaccines?
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the days tick by since Omicron was discovered, it's slowly spreading around the world.One example is reports of a couple of Israeli doctors who li...
Do we really know yet if Omicron is "milder"?
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly two years into the global coronavirus pandemic, it's probably safe to say that we're all pretty much ready for it to be done.So no wonder we'r...
The three theories of Omicron's origin
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the world desperately awaits news from scientists on anything Omicron, some experts have started thinking about where the variant might have come ...
Hello Omicron. Goodbye Delta?
28 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's the news we didn't want: There's a new variant of concern in town and it's got all sorts of mutations just where you don't want them.It's also g...
How does COVID rank against other pandemics?
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As pandemics go, the coronavirus one is pretty big. It rapidly spread around the world, and is still causing problems.But how does it compare to past...
At 90%, what's the point of mandating vaccination?
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All around the country at the moment are family discussions and debates about what to do about that one relative or friend who still doesn't want to ...
Will vaccination cause new variants?
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the slew of variants popped into existence last year, scientists began worrying what it could mean for vaccine resistant variants down the line....
COVID isn't the only thing coming this summer
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As we start to reopen to the world, it's inevitable that we'll start to see more cases of COVID-19 travel over our international and domestic borders...
Why it's not worth waiting for Novavax
21 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's become a common claim among people who are still COVID-19 vaccine hesitant, that they say they're "waiting for Novavax".While there are currentl...
Why is Indigenous vaccination so patchy?
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The head of the umbrella organisation for Australia's Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations says she's nervous about the country's reo...
Don't be scared of bird flu headlines... yet
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For obvious reasons, pandemics are pretty hot news right now.And it seems every few weeks, we see headlines about a possible new outbreak of potentia...
The NT's worst local COVID-19 day ever
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the NT's Chief Minister Michael Gunner held the COVID-19 press conference yesterday, he revealed news that many have been dreading.A significant...
One week until SA throws open the doors
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nerves are running high in South Australia, as the state is now only one week away from opening the doors and inevitably letting COVID in.South Austr...
Europe's first winter with Delta is already looking grim
14 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australians know full well that the Delta variant loves winter.As the weather warms up here things are looking up, but overseas it's getting colder a...
Shouldn't Victoria's numbers be falling by now?
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When it was clear that the daily new COVID cases in Victoria had peaked, there was hope and speculation that the numbers would drop off quickly like ...
How do I talk to people who don't want to be vaccinated?
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As vaccination rates increase and restrictions ease, plenty of us are starting to make plans for the Christmas and New Year breaks.But in most of Aus...
Let's dust off the crystal ball!
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the news that NSW has hit 90 percent double vaccination in 16+, with other parts of the country to follow soon, you could be forgiven for thinki...
Keeping schools open through COVID outbreaks
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the Doherty model was released a few months ago, it set Australia on a path to reopening at various stages of vaccination.Now that the country h...
A lot of little kids are getting COVID. Why?
07 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The largest age group of active COVID cases in Victoria at the moment are kids, under 9 years old. While hard to compare directly, it's a similar sto...
How many people have really died from COVID?
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The world passed a grim milestone a few days ago: 5 million deaths from COVID-19 and counting.But the reality is, that the actual deaths from the pan...
Let's talk about kids and vaccine side effects
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A program to vaccinate children in the United States has come closer to reality, after the CDC endorseds the use of COVID-19 shots in kids from 5 to ...
Is NSW going to run out of people to vaccinate?
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The rules for fully vaccinated people in NSW are changing for the better next week, with a bunch of restrictions being lifted early thanks to high va...
Why so long between scary variants?
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It was in early May when the Delta variant was officially listed as a variant of concern.Delta turned out to be far more contagious than previous var...
Finally we can test ourselves at home!
31 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From today, you can buy rapid antigen tests from the shop and use them on yourself to see if you've got COVID-19 or not.Previously, the home, general...
Boy do you have booster questions! Let's answer some
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australians over 18 years of age who've waited six months from their second COVID vaccine will be given the chance to grab a booster shot if they wan...
Should a 3rd dose be required to be FULLY vaccinated?
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australia's expert vaccination panel may soon tick off on a major expansion to the country's coronavirus vaccination program, paving the way for thir...
Will vaccines stop me getting long COVID?
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of the big unknowns with coronavirus is why some people are left with symptoms from the illness long after they test negative.It's known as long ...
How do I protect the vulnerable people I love?
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As more states open their borders in coming months, more COVID than ever will be circulating through the community. Vaccines will help protect many o...
How will we know if we're reopening too fast?
24 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As more and more of the country is vaccinated, state and territory governments are starting to outline which restrictions we will lose when we reach ...
Norman's moving the goal posts again everyone
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There's been all sorts of vaccination targets bandied about over the last year: 70 per cent, 80 per cent, 16+ eligibility, 12+ eligibility. It never ...
Reopening with thousands of cases a day
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Greater Melbourne will finally come out of lockdown a minute before the strike of midnight tonight, which will be a huge relief to millions of people...
A third dose? When will it end!
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the various states and territories report their daily vaccination rates as a mix of single and double doses, should they perhaps also be adding ...
Queensland sets the date to end COVID-zero
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Until now, a lot of the worry about COVID-19 in Australia has been about how zero-COVID states will rejoin NSW, Victoria and the ACT.Well yesterday, ...
The end of Victoria's lockdown era is finally here
17 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Victoria's lockdown will end this Thursday night, when the state expects to reach its first vaccine goal of 70 per cent double vaccinated.Reasons to ...
What's coming after Delta?
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The arrival of the Delta variant really was a massive curveball that few experts saw coming.It ripped through populations overseas and quickly punche...