Behind the Headlines

New 5-day morning-after pill in 'promiscuity' claims

Friday Oct 19 2012

The Daily Mail raise concerns about what they dub the promiscuity pill – a new type of emergency contraceptive that is effective up to five days after sex. But is there actually evidence that access to emergency contraceptives 'leads to unsafe sex'…

'Dud' typhoid fever vaccine fears

Tuesday Oct 9 2012

'700,000 travellers 'at risk of typhoid due to dud jab' the Daily Telegraph warns. The news comes after manufactures of the vaccine announced that some batches could be too weak, putting some at potential risk of infection…

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Whooping cough vaccine for pregnant women

Wednesday Oct 3 2012

"Pregnant women are to be given the whooping cough vaccine for the first time following the biggest outbreak of the disease for 20 years and the deaths of 10 babies," The Daily Telegraph has reported…

New 'SARS-like' virus detected

Tuesday Sep 25 2012

A new “SARS-like” virus has been detected in the UK, according to widespread media coverage. The headlines are based on press releases from the UK’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO)...

Half of medical reporting 'is subject to spin'

Wednesday Sep 19 2012

A story that you will probably not be reading in your daily paper anytime soon casts serious doubts on the reliability of mainstream medical and health journalism. A study found that over half of all news stories were subject to some form of 'spin'…

Painkillers may be making a million headaches worse

Wednesday Sep 19 2012

'More than one million people in Britain may be suffering from constant, crippling headaches because they are taking too many painkillers' the Guardian explains. The claim is based on new guidance on the treatment of headaches published by NICE…

Should we allow 'three-parent' IVF

Monday Sep 17 2012

''Three people, one baby' public consultation begins' BBC News tell us after the body that regulates the use of IVF, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, launches a public consultation into so-called three parent IVF…

Acute hospital services on 'brink of collapse' claim

Thursday Sep 13 2012

A potential crisis in hospital care is widely reported in the media today, with BBC News reporting that standards of hospital care are slipping throughout England. The Daily Mail states that elderly patients are being shunted between beds...

Sharp rise in hospital admissions for stress – 'recession to blame'

Wednesday Sep 12 2012

A sharp rise in hospital admissions for stress over the last year was widely covered in the papers today, with The Independent linking the increase to the recession and the Daily Mail pointing out that more men...

Measles cases in England 'almost double'

Friday Aug 24 2012

“Measles cases 'almost double' after outbreaks”, BBC News has reported. The BBC attributes the rise, in part, to recent outbreaks in Sussex and Merseyside. In a balanced...

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