Health News Roundup: Moderna expects vaccine shipments to Britain, Canada to be delayed; Brazil asks women to delay pregnancy and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Moderna expects vaccine shipments to Britain, Canada to be delayed, EU, Swiss roll-out on track

Moderna Inc said on Friday a shortfall in COVID-19 vaccine doses from its European suppliers will delay deliveries to countries including Canada and Britain, but shipments to the European Union and Switzerland are on track. The drugmaker will deliver about 650,000 doses by the end of April, not the expected 1.2 million, Canada's Procurement Minister Anita Anand said.

Brazil asks women to delay pregnancy over new coronavirus variant fears

Brazil asked women on Friday to delay getting pregnant until the worst of the pandemic passes, saying the virus variant that is devastating the South American country appears to affect expectant mothers more than earlier versions of the coronavirus.

The recommendation comes as Brazil continues to be one of the global epicenters of the pandemic, with more Brazilians dying of the virus each day than anywhere else in the world.

Modi appeals for low-key Hindu festival as India's COVID-19 infections surge

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to devotees to keep a key Hindu festival symbolic, amid worries about the spread of COVID-19 infections as the country reported more than 200,000 new cases for a third straight day. Criticism has mounted over the Indian government's handling of the health crisis, as religious festivals and election rallies continue despite reports of shortages of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and vaccination doses.

Australia to continue review of COVID vaccinations - health minister

Australia will continue its review of coronavirus vaccines after a 48-year-old woman's death was likely linked to the inoculation, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Saturday. On Friday, Australia reported its first fatality from blood clots in a recipient of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 shot. It was the third case of the rare blood clots appearing in people who have been administered the vaccine in the country. "The government will ask ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) to ensure continuous review of all of the vaccines in terms of their safety and their efficacy," Hunt said at a televised briefing.

Blood type not a COVID-19 risk factor in U.S.; inhaled asthma drug may keep mild illness from worsening

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Blood type not a factor in COVID-19 risks in U.S. patients

Senators urge Biden to back temporary WTO waiver of IP rights to speed vaccine access

Bernie Sanders and nine other Democratic senators urged President Joe Biden on Friday to back a temporary patent waiver for COVID-19 vaccines that would allow countries to manufacture treatments locally and accelerate the global vaccination effort.

World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonko-Iweala on Wednesday urged WTO member to address inequitable access to vaccines, with low-income countries administering just 0.2% of 700 million global doses.

Drug companies to face first opioid trial following pandemic delays

(Reuters)Four drugmakers, including Johnson & Johnson and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, will go to trial on Monday over claims they helped fuel an opioid crisis that has resulted in nearly 500,000 overdose deaths in the United States.

The trial is one of several looking to hold companies accountable for the overdose and abuse crisis that are set to take place this year after the coronavirus pandemic delayed litigation, putting renewed pressure on them to enter into multi-billion dollar settlements.

U.S. administers 202.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: CDC

The United States has administered 202,282,923 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Friday morning and distributed 258,502,815 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. Those figures are up from the 198,317,040 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by April 15 out of 255,400,665 doses delivered.

Biden administration to invest $1.7 billion to fight COVID-19 variants

The Biden administration on Friday said it will invest $1.7 billion to help states and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fight COVID-19 variants that are rapidly spreading across the United States. The investment, which will be part of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, will improve detection, monitoring, and mitigation of these variants by scaling up genomic sequencing efforts - a key step in containing the spread, the White House said.

J&J scientists refute idea that COVID-19 vaccine's design linked to clots

Scientists at Johnson & Johnson on Friday refuted an assertion in a major medical journal that the design of their COVID-19 vaccine, which is similar AstraZeneca's, may explain why both have been linked to very rare brain blood clots in some vaccine recipients. The United States earlier this week paused distribution of the J&J vaccine to investigate six cases of a rare brain blood clot known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), accompanied by a low blood platelet count, in U.S. women under age 50, out of about 7 million people who got the shot.