Joan Van Dyk

Covid-19 figures have never captured the full extent of the pandemic, and the numbers are becoming less useful because fewer people are testing

In the US, the end of national abortion rights could be drawing nearer. In South Africa, laws permit terminations — but the threat is political, not legal

Public health experts disagree with the vaping industry’s argument that imposing a sin tax will lead to a similar path of Aids denialism

Lobbyists pushing for vaping as a way to help people quit smoking insist taxing e-cigarettes like traditional smokes will lead down a similar path as denying HIV treatment to state patients

The US and South African medicines regulators have faced legal challenges regarding information used to review and approve Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine

You can now mix and match boosters and also get them sooner. But what’s the science behind it?

This is the first in a series of analyses about the fight for the nations’ lungs. Here, we take a look at the tobacco control players in South Africa

Abortion services only got a national “how to” document for doctors 23 years after termination of pregnancy was legalised in South Africa. And although the new rules go a long way to remove barriers to ending a pregnancy, nonprofits say crucial information such as a simple list of telephone numbers is still lacking

This database shows you where you can find safe family planning services near you. It’s verified two to four times a year by a dedicated team of data capturers and ‘secret shopper’ callers

There is less demand for ivermectin when South Africa is between Covid-19 waves. But nobody is tracking how many people may be using the animal formulation

The scientific process is like a hamburger. By examining the quality of each ingredient, you can see how good the end product is. You wouldn’t want mouldy bread or wilted lettuce ruining a perfectly good meal — and similarly you don’t want bad science ruining what could otherwise be a perfectly good vaccine. We look at whether Sputnik V could make it onto the menu.

Russia’s COVID vaccine, Sputnik V, is plagued by a series of red flags and question marks surrounding its clinical trials and results. Here’s how the jab took a shortcut and created sceptics about its underlying science.