News | COVID-19

News

Healthcare professionals will receive ‘clear and scalable’ psychological support in a future pandemic, government says

Lack of data on COVID-19 staff deaths “was seen as a reflection that healthcare workers were not being counted or valued”, the government says in response to an inquiry.…

Published: 15 September 2026

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Pharmacists having to procure their own pandemic PPE ‘a major failure in planning’, finds COVID-19 inquiry

The COVID 19 inquiry report described the government's personal protective equipment distribution plans as “inadequate”.…

Published: 16 July 2026

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Health news round-up: ‘landmark’ long COVID trial results and are contraceptives linked to brain tumours?

The Pharmaceutical Journal’s weekly summary of the important developments in pharmacy and health news you may have missed.…

Published: 10 July 2026

News

New antidepressant prescriptions lower than pre-pandemic levels, study finds

Researchers found that the incident rate of central nervous system medicines was 4.1 per 1,000 person-months in February 2024, which is down from 6.0 per 1,000 person months in February 2020.…

Published: 3 July 2026

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Health news round-up: relabelling prostate cancer, zoonotic diseases and e-cigarette chemicals

The Pharmaceutical Journal’s weekly summary of the important developments in pharmacy and health news you may have missed.…

Published: 3 July 2026

News

Paxlovid speeds COVID-19 recovery but does not reduce hospital admissions

Across two trials, more than 4,000 patients were randomised to receive usual care or Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir; Pfizer) within three or four days of symptom onset.…

Published: 24 April 2026

News

Use pharmacies earlier in future pandemics, says COVID-19 inquiry

The COVID-19 inquiry report noted that community pharmacies will be especially effective in areas that have lower vaccine uptake and where travel may hamper vaccine access.…

Published: 16 April 2026

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News round-up: long COVID, chikungunya and free supplies of ciprofloxacin

Our weekly summary of the important developments in pharmacy and health news you may have missed.…

Published: 2 April 2026

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COVID-19 vaccines not associated with sudden death in healthy young people

The researchers found no significant difference between the first, second and third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in terms of increased risk of sudden cardiac death in healthy young patients.…

Published: 31 March 2026

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Health news round-up: antidepressants, hospital admissions and rheumatology workforce

A weekly summary of important developments in pharmacy and health news that you may have missed.…

Published: 27 March 2026