Posts by VIVA! Communications
New advisory council for Medicines Australia – March 6, 2017
Medicines Australia (MA) has today (March 6, 2017) announced the appointment of 10 members to its new advisory council. Dr Anna Lavelle will act as MA Chair, and will be joined by ex-Chief Scientist of Australia, Professor Ian Chubb AC, Dr Jeff Harmer who has held many senior roles in various Commonwealth departments, and a…
Read MoreAustralian research lab training supercomputer to identify eye abnormalities
Advancements in assistive image analytics and deep learning technology could in the future help doctors in the fight against preventable blindness. The Melbourne based IBM researchers have trained a research version of Watson (their latest computing system) to recognise abnormalities in retina images. According to the researchers, this could be developed to offer doctors…
Read MoreNew hep C treatments make disease elimination a possibility by 2026 in Australia
Australia is on track to achieve hepatitis C (hep C) elimination within 10 years, having treated more than 30,000 people in 2016.1 This is according to a new report1, released today (February 21, 2017), which coincides with the availability of the latest hep C treatment, ZEPATIER® (elbasvir/grazoprevir), on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).2 The…
Read MoreMisplaced parental consent forms compromising teen vaccination coverage
Parental consent forms are critical to adolescent vaccination in schools. Up to one in three teens are missing out on National Immunisation Program (NIP) funded vaccinations due to parental consent forms being lost, or not returned to schools. The NIP is an immunisation schedule, with funding for recommended vaccines for all ages. Each State has…
Read MoreState government announces free meningococcal vaccine for NSW teens
Following substantial pressure from the lobby group, Meningococcal Australia, the NSW Government has today (February 6, 2017) announced that they will roll out a free meningococcal vaccine to all at-risk students aged 17-18 State-wide Last month, the Federal Government announced the coordination of a national response to the disease, after a noticeable increase in the…
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