“We’re starting to see an increase in COVID cases, and changes in the variants circulating in New South Wales, which tells us that we’re entering the next COVID wave,” NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said in a pre-recorded message released by the state’s health department this week.Among areas of broadest consensus, these experts recommend a whole-of-society strategy that incorporates multiple stakeholders, whole-of-government approaches that enhance health system responsiveness and a ‘vaccines-plus’ strategy that combines an effective vaccination regime with other preventative measures and social incentives.Biomedical scientists and virologists at the University of Queensland have found COVID-19 triggers the same inflammatory reactions in the brain as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases – flagging a new risk associated with the disease.“It may explain why some people who’ve had COVID-19 are more vulnerable to developing neurological symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease.”A sex-linked gene could increase the risk of severe COVID-19 five-fold, according to researchers from McGill University in Canada.Listen to the episodeOriginally published by Cosmos as The COVID-19 Booster: Australia experiences surge in cases as new wave beginsThere’s never been a more important time to explain the facts, cherish evidence-based knowledge and to showcase the latest scientific, technological and engineering breakthroughs."