Health News Roundup: Bristol Myers first-quarter earnings miss expectations as cancer drugs underperform; BioNTech expects vaccine trial results for babies and more

It also said it is increasing its expectations for 2021 vaccine production to between 800 million and 1 billion shots, raising the bottom of its range from 700 million. Germany's COVID-19 incidence falls to lowest in 2 weeks The number of German coronavirus infections seems to be heading lower but the decline is not yet deep enough to suggest that the third wave of the pandemic has been broken, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Bristol Myers first-quarter earnings miss expectations as cancer drugs underperform

Bristol Myers Squibb Co reported lower-than-expected first-quarter profit on Thursday as sales of its high margin cancer drugs Revlimid and Opdivo fell short of Wall Street estimates. The underperformance of the cancer drugs was partially offset by better-than-expected sales of the blood thinner Eliquis that Bristol Myers shares with Pfizer Inc.

BioNTech expects vaccine trial results for babies by September

BioNTech expects results by September from trials testing the COVID-19 vaccine that it and Pfizer have developed in babies as young as six months old, German magazine Spiegel cited the company's CEO as saying. "In July, the first results could be available for the five to 12 year olds, in September for the younger children," BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told Spiegel. He added it takes about four to six weeks to evaluate the data.

Vaccinated Hong Kong residents ready to party till 2 a.m. curfew as bars reopen

In Hong Kong's famed party zone Lan Kwai Fong, dormant bars and clubs are revving up to serve customers again, but only if they have had at least one vaccine shot - one of the few examples globally of offering greater freedom for the vaccinated. Bar staff need to have gotten at least one coronavirus vaccine dose too, and patrons must register with a government mobile tracking application as they enter.

World to spend $157 billion on COVID-19 vaccines through 2025: report

Total global spending on COVID-19 vaccines is projected to reach $157 billion by 2025, driven by mass vaccination programs underway and "booster shots" expected every two years, according to a report by U.S. health data company IQVIA Holdings Inc released on Thursday. IQVIA, which provides data and analytics for the healthcare industry, said it expects the first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations to reach about 70% of the world's population by the end of 2022. Booster shots are likely to follow initial vaccinations every two years, the report said, based on current data on the duration of effect of the vaccines.

India infections top 18 million as gravediggers work round the clock

India's total COVID-19 cases passed 18 million on Thursday after another world record number of daily infections, as gravediggers worked around the clock to bury victims and hundreds more were cremated in makeshift pyres in parks and parking lots. India reported 379,257 new infections and 3,645 new deaths on Thursday, health ministry data showed, the highest number of fatalities in a single day since the start of the pandemic.

Germany says new EU COVID vaccine contracts have clear rules on delivery shortfalls

The European Union's contracts for COVID-19 vaccines to be delivered in 2022/23 contain clear rules what would happen if the vaccine makers do not deliver, Germany's Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday, signalling the bloc had learned its lesson after troubles with AstraZeneca. The European Commission has launched legal proceedings against the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker for not respecting its contract for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and for not having a "reliable" plan to ensure timely deliveries.

Moderna boosting COVID-19 vaccine-making capacity, targets up to 3 billion shots in 2022

Moderna Inc said on Thursday it is boosting manufacturing capacity for its COVID-19 vaccine and expects to make up to 3 billion doses in 2022, more than twice its previous forecast. It also said it is increasing its expectations for 2021 vaccine production to between 800 million and 1 billion shots, raising the bottom of its range from 700 million.

Germany's COVID-19 incidence falls to lowest in 2 weeks

The number of German coronavirus infections seems to be heading lower but the decline is not yet deep enough to suggest that the third wave of the pandemic has been broken, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday. "The figures must not only stagnate, they must go down," Spahn told a news conference, adding that an accelerated vaccination campaign was helping but that there were still too many people being treated in intensive care wards.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: India's coronavirus infections cross 18 million

India's COVID-19 emergency is wake-up call to Africa -AU health chief

The raging state of the COVID-19 pandemic is India is a wake-up call for Africa that its governments and citizens must not let their guards down, the African Union's disease control agency warned on Thursday. African nations generally do not have sufficient numbers of health care workers, hospital beds, oxygen supplies, and the continent of 1.3 billion would be even more overwhelmed than India if cases surged in a similar way, said John Nkengasgong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

(With inputs from agencies.)