This evening the Department of Health and Social Care issued an approval order enabling women in England to have early medical abortions at home during the Covid-19 crisis. The provisions affect women seeking abortions before 10 weeks, allowing them to take both pills for early medical abortion at home. The approval also allows doctors to […]
Month: March 2020
COVID-19 in the Caribbean region: indications of gendered nature
National governments across the world are scrambling to contain the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Caribbean region has been affected later than other regions including Asia, Europe and Africa. As at 21st March 2020, twenty-four countries/territories in the Caribbean region have reported a total of 384 confirmed COVID-19 infections. Most cases are imported […]
Saving lives by European solidarity and cooperation in response to COVID-19
COVID-19 is spreading rapidly across Europe. Many people are currently suffering from it and thousands in Europe are dying. We know that these numbers will inevitably rise much further. The European Council recently stressed the importance of European solidarity and cooperation in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Most European countries have ensured that there […]
International Surrogacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Anna Nelson @Anna_Nelson95 This blog examines the implications of the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen unprecedented restrictions placed upon citizens across the globe, for international surrogacy. It concludes that while the pandemic does indeed pose some novel issues – such as the potential for babies born to surrogates who live abroad during this […]
Abortion and Covid-19: MPs should beware anti-abortion letters
Nathan Hodson, Elizabeth Chloe Romanis and Jordan Parsons Debate continues this week over whether abortion regulations in Great Britain should be adapted to ensure access for women during the Covid-19 crisis and resulting widespread self-isolation. We have reviewed an email circulated by anti-abortion activists immediately after laws were briefly relaxed (and the changes were revoked […]
COVID-19 and smoking: resources, research and news
To provide information to health professionals and the general public, this page provides resources, research and news reports about COVID19 and smoking, vaping and other tobacco products. This page will be updated regularly as additional resources are published. (Last updated 30 March 2020) Tobacco Control & BMJ publications Smokeless tobacco use and the COVID-19 […]
COVID-19 and Abortion Care Update: Department of Health and Social Care “Error”
Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, Jordan Parsons, and Nathan Hodson In an unprecedented move, yesterday the Department of Health and Social Care liberalised restrictions on abortion care in England only to revoke that decision hours later. This returned the legal position for abortion provision back to that stated in the approval order of the Secretary of State […]
Covid-19 and smoking: the elephant in the room?
Kathryn Barnsley, Sukhwinder Singh Sohal For more on COVID-19 and smoking, see the Tobacco Control resources page Click here The role of smoking in the contraction, transmission and mortality rate of Covid-19 should be given research attention, and countries should allocate resources to health stimulus packages, scientific research, and actions to further reduce smoking rates. […]
Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: A Potential Conduit of COVID-19
Mohammad Ebrahimi Kalan, Ziyad Ben Taleb, Mehdi Fazlzadeh, Kenneth D Ward, Wasim Maziak On New Year’s Eve 2019, the outbreak of a novel infectious respiratory disease (known as Coronavirus disease 2019; COVID-19) was reported in several patients with a history of exposure to the Huanan seafood market, in multiple hospitals in the city of Wuhan, […]
Sex, gender and COVID-19: Disaggregated data and health disparities
Sex and gender matter to health equity. The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illustrates this in the clearest terms. We are pleased that the Lancet Gender and COVID-19 Working Group, UN Women, UNFPA and others are bringing attention to the gendered elements of the outbreak. The impact on women in particular has been […]