Every week, HEADlines brings you the latest news, stories and commentaries in education and healthcare. This week, get insights on the latest developments in healthcare. image Living with dementia – How can the society help? A dementia diagnosis throws an entire family into uncertainty. Family members and caregivers grapple with the inevitable mental decline of their loved ones while patients often battle denial and grief. Today, there is still no known cure for dementia. But there are ways we can manage and help as a society to better support dementia patients and their caregivers. A global initiative called “Forward with Dementia” was launched to do just that. It provides information and resources to those living with dementia, their carers and a range of health care professionals. Research is showing that family and community ties are significant in staving off dementia. Without meaningful, daily human connections, we do not thrive as well as we should. The isolation faced by many during the pandemic has taken its toll, especially on those living with dementia and their carers. To promote a community that supports dementia patients, Dementia Singapore is piloting a new care model – an assisted living facility that will help the elderly to live independently, interact in the community, and have access to professional care. It has also trained SMRT staff to identify and assist lost dementia persons to reunite with their families. People often skip to the end stages when they hear the word dementia, but there is a beginning and a middle stage to the disease. With a strong supportive community, we can help dementia patients to live full and meaningful lives after diagnosis. Healthcare in the Spotlight ABC News: I’ve lived with dementia for seven years. I’d like more people to understand what it’s really like A personal story from Wendy Mitchell on how to live a full life after being diagnosed with dementia. The New York Times: Got a COVID booster? You probably won’t need another for a long time New studies suggest that three doses of a COVID vaccine, or even just two, are enough to protect most people from serious illness and death for a long time. The Straits Times: Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine shows long-term efficacy in UK trial The protein-based vaccine maintained an overall efficacy of 82.7% over a six-month period, with 100% efficacy against severe disease. Reuters: COVID curbs linked to 720,000 fewer dengue fever cases in 2020