Health News Roundup: India battles record COVID surges as rallies, Hindu festival; China likely to approve BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine and more

Rollout of J&J's one-shot vaccine was paused in the United States and Europe this week over a handful of cases of very rare but dangerous blood clots in the brain, much like AstraZeneca's safety issue. U.S. parents begin to ask: Should my child get a COVID-19 shot? Tristen Sweeten, a 34-year-old nurse in Utah, hopes her three children will receive Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine through its pediatric clinical trial.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

India battles record COVID surge as rallies, Hindu festival draw huge crowds

India battled a record surge in COVID-19 cases on Friday as hospitals ran out of oxygen and beds, while politicians held election rallies and hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees attended a weeks-long festival, infuriating health officials. A massive second wave of infections, second only to the United States in total, forced authorities to restrict movement of people in Mumbai, New Delhi and other cities amid growing calls for faster vaccination rollouts.

China likely to approve BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine by July: WSJ

China is planning to authorize the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Germany's BioNTech SE by July, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. If approved, it would become the first foreign COVID-19 vaccine to be authorized in the country.

'You can't clone us': Polish doctors cry for help as COVID deaths spike

When the pandemic began last year, Kinga Szlachcic-Wyroba, an anaesthesiologist in the Stefan Zeromski Specialist Hospital in Krakow, Poland, had to manage one COVID-19 patient and 10 others in intensive care with three other doctors.

Now the third wave has hit Poland and the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care stands at 17, with just four non-COVID sufferers. Around 80% of the COVID patients are expected to die.

Lilly asks FDA to not allow lone use of COVID-19 drug bamlanivimab

Eli Lilly and Co said it had requested for cancellation of the U.S. authorization granted to its COVID-19 antibody, bamlanivimab, which will now be used in combination with another to achieve greater efficacy against emerging virus variants. The request made to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is not due to any new safety issues, but in response to the new variants in the country that could be resistant to bamlanivimab when used alone, the drugmaker said in a statement.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: India extends record rise in cases

Analysis: Countries seek more Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 shots as concerns mount over rival vaccines

Wealthy governments are looking to COVID-19 shots from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc to keep their vaccination programs on track, as safety concerns and production problems sideline vaccines from AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson, public health experts and industry analysts say. Countries in Europe and Asia, as well as South Africa, are limiting or halting use of AstraZeneca's shot over safety concerns. Rollout of J&J's one-shot vaccine was paused in the United States and Europe this week over a handful of cases of very rare but dangerous blood clots in the brain, much like AstraZeneca's safety issue.

U.S. parents begin to ask: Should my child get a COVID-19 shot?

Tristen Sweeten, a 34-year-old nurse in Utah, hopes her three children will receive Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine through its pediatric clinical trial. The sooner the better, she said, for their safety and the greater goal of ending the pandemic. Angie Ankoma, a 45-year-old Black mother of four who works in philanthropy in Rhode Island, believes trials must include diverse populations and participated in one for a COVID-19 vaccine herself. Volunteering her kids for possible inclusion in Moderna's trial was a tougher call.

Fauci says he believes J&J vaccine will 'get back on track soon'

Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease doctor, hopes U.S. regulators will make a quick decision to lift a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and get that vaccine "back on track," he said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday. His comments come a day after a panel of advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) delayed a vote on whether to resume the J&J shots for at least a week, until it had more data on the risk.

Australia reports first blood clot death 'likely' linked to AstraZeneca vaccine

Australia on Friday reported its first fatality from blood clots in a recipient of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot, and its regulator said there was a likely link between the 48-year-old woman's death and the vaccine. Hers was the third instance of the rare blood clots appearing in people who have been administered the vaccine in Australia. The other two are recovering well, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) added.

Johnson & Johnson asked rival COVID-19 vaccine makers to probe clotting risks - WSJ

Johnson & Johnson had reached out to rival COVID-19 vaccine makers to join in an effort to study the risks of blood clots, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. AstraZeneca, which had been buffeted by similar blood-clotting concerns for weeks, agreed, while Pfizer Inc and Moderna executive declined, saying their vaccines appeared safe, the report said. (https://on.wsj.com/2Q7E4Ho)