Some good news this November
In light of current events, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve been sharing some good news stories each month. We’re going to keep bringing you these posts to help take our minds off the pandemic for a minute and hopefully spread a little bit of joy.
Real-life aged care home for four-year-olds an intergenerational winner in Wellington, NSW
An intergenerational learning centre has been built next door to an aged care facility in Western NSW. It is the first of its kind in Australia that has been purpose-built to drive connection and engagement between aged care residents and pre-school children. The center has rooms specifically designed for regular interaction between residents and the children.
The research behind the initiative says that promoting interactions between children and the elderly; through games, reading and singing; helps to combat memory loss and loneliness. It also helps remind them of their self-worth and purpose, which sees them becoming happier and more engaged. The aged care residents have been reporting that it is bringing them happiness, helping to break up their usual routines, and making them feel alive.
Moderna: Covid vaccine shows nearly 95% protection
US company Moderna has revealed early data that its new COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective. The announcement follows a similar one from another US pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, which announced that trials of it COVID-19 vaccine were proving 90% effective. Both companies have used a highly innovative and experimental approach to designing their vaccines.
Moderna has announced that it’s planning on applying for approval to use the vaccine in the coming weeks, and that they hope to have one billion doses available for use around the world next year, once they have gained approval in other countries.
These promising results have increased confidence that vaccines can be successfully used to help end the pandemic. However, it is still unclear how long immunity will last and how effective they will be in older age groups.
Record-breaking day for GrainCorp as farmers rejoice over bumper winter harvest
Widespread rain in the second half of 2020 helped Aussie wheat and grain farmers end the year well, with some able to produce their first winter crops in three years.
In fact, this year’s winter harvest was so strong that GrainCorp received the highest daily volume of grain in its history, at 360,000 tonnes, and more than 5 million tonnes of grain across NSW, Queensland and Victoria since the winter harvest began.
Some farmers in central western NSW have reported that this year is a once-in-a-lifetime harvest, with 8-10 times the amount of grain than previous years.
We hope these stories provided you with at least a moment’s relief from all the other news we get these days! Stay tuned for next month’s good news stories.
