No prizes for guessing what this year’s most popular features have been based on… yes, everything and anything to do with COVID-19.
We’ve approached this all-consuming subject from many angles in the features section: we looked at therapies, vaccines, testing and how the pandemic is changing pharmacy practice. There has certainly been no shortage of things to write about. And for some topics, such as the COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, things have moved so quickly that we have had to regularly update our features to make sure that they contain the very latest information.
And it seems like those efforts have been worthwhile — our ‘live’ features made up the three most-read of 2020.
Your top ten features of 2020 were:
10. No going back: how the pandemic is changing community pharmacy
Part of a series on how the pandemic is changing pharmacy practice, this feature looks at which changes community pharmacists want to keep when it ends, including more remote consultations, increased collaboration with other healthcare professionals and a wider role in primary care.
9. Five things pharmacists should look out for in the government’s Brexit deal
This feature is one of two non-COVID-19 related articles that made it into the top ten in 2020, and it’s about that other hot topic: Brexit. The feature looks at five difficult areas the UK and European Union will have to find agreement on that will affect the day-to-day lives of pharmacists — assuming there isn’t a no-deal outcome, that is.
8. No going back: how the pandemic is changing hospital pharmacy
In another feature in our series on how the pandemic is changing pharmacy practice, we look at the changes that hospital pharmacists would like to keep, including new medicines preparation and delivery services, more autonomy to make decisions and better support for staff wellbeing.
7. The true impact of the UK’s hormone replacement therapy shortages
This feature investigates the drastic impact of more than 18 months of shortage of hormone replacement therapy products on the lives of people who rely on them, and asks why nobody seems to know why these shortages are happening.
6. The hunt for an effective treatment for COVID-19
Published in April, during the first surge of COVID-19 cases in the UK and before any therapies were approved for COVID-19, this feature looks at the likely frontrunners in the global search to find an effective treatment, including antivirals and immune modulators.
5. The COVID-19 vaccines being backed by the UK and when we might get them
As cases began to surge again during the autumn, we published this feature on the four different types of COVID-19 vaccines that have been pre-ordered by the UK government, what stage each candidate is at and how scientists have been able to develop a vaccine so quickly.
4. Everything you need to know about COVID-19 antibody tests
Published in July amid ongoing battles between community pharmacies, their regulator and public health officials over the provision of rapid point-of-care antibody tests, this feature looks at how these tests work, which ones are approved, how accurate they are and pharmacy’s role in providing them.
3. Ten things pharmacists should know about COVID-19 vaccines
This feature was first published in October and is being constantly updated with all of the new information pharmacists need to know about COVID-19 vaccines, including new trial data, which vaccines have gained a UK licence and how many doses of each vaccine the UK government has secured.
2. Everything you need to know about the COVID-19 therapy trials
There are thousands of clinical trials investigating treatments and preventative measures for COVID-19. In this feature — which is updated regularly — we collate the main treatments being studied, the evidence supporting their use and the trials they are being evaluated in.
1. Everything you should know about the coronavirus outbreak
First published at the end of January, when there were more questions than answers about the coronavirus outbreak, this feature has been regularly updated since, and covers everything pharmacists need to know about COVID-19 cases, testing, symptoms, treatment, vaccines, funding, medicines shortages and more.
Get in touch
We hope you have found our coverage of COVID-19 in the features section useful this year. If you have suggestions for topics that you would like us to cover in 2021, please send an email to dawn.connelly@rpharms.com or tweet to @DawnConnelly73
