Reuters Health News Summary

Presenting real-world data on a subset of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the UK, the researchers said the findings showed some level of "vaccine failure" - in other words cases where vaccinated people still become infected and get sick - but that this was "not unexpected." Indian states run out of COVID-19 vaccines, nationwide inoculation delayed Several Indian states have run out of coronavirus vaccines a day before a planned widening of a nationwide inoculation drive, authorities said on Friday, as new infections surged to another daily record.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Pfizer, BioNTech seek to extend COVID-19 vaccine use to adolescents in EU

Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE said on Friday they had applied to the European health regulator to extend the marketing authorization for their coronavirus vaccine for use in adolescents aged 12 to 15. The companies filed a similar request in the United States earlier this month for the vaccine, which is already authorized for use in people from 16 years of age in both the United States and the European Union.

AbbVie raises full-year profit forecast as Humira fuels sales beat

AbbVie Inc beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue on Friday and raised its full-year profit forecast, helped by demand for blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira and newer treatments such as psoriasis treatment Skyrizi.

Humira sales rose 3.5% to $4.87 billion, beating expectations of $4.78 billion. Sales, however, fell 8.3% in markets outside the United States due to rising competition, especially in Europe.

Biden won't rule out requiring U.S. service members to get COVID-19 vaccine -NBC interview

President Joe Biden said he has not ruled out requiring U.S. service members to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to an NBC interview broadcast on Friday. "I'm not saying I won't," Biden said when asked if he would require the men and women in the U.S. armed services to get vaccinated.

AstraZeneca says U.S. data load for U.S. COVID-19 vaccine approval very big

AstraZeneca is working as fast as possible to compile data on its COVID-19 vaccine to apply for U.S. approval but the dataset is very big, executives said on Friday as the drugmaker faces delays to its submission. "There's a lot more data than just a Phase III study and so we're working as fast as we can to pull it all together and submit," said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca.

England's COVID-19 R number estimate inches up

The estimated range for the COVID-19 reproduction "R" number in England has inched higher, Britain's health ministry said on Friday, and is estimated between 0.8 and 1.1. An R value between 0.8 and 1.1 means that, on average, every 10 people infected will infect between 8 and 11 other people. It compares to an estimated range of 0.8 to 1.0 last week.

Erdogan says Turkey expects more COVID-19 vaccine supplies soon

Turkey has enough doses of COVID-19 vaccine at the moment and will not have issues with procurement, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, adding he would discuss more supplies with Russian and Chinese leaders. Speaking two days after his health minister warned that vaccines would be more scarce in the next two months, Erdogan said Turkey expected to receive a "serious" amount of vaccines from Moscow and Beijing.

Post-vaccine COVID infections and deaths rare, UK study finds

A very small number of mainly frail, elderly COVID-19 patients are being hospitalised and dying even after having a first dose of Pfizer's or AstraZeneca's vaccines, but this does not mean the shots aren't working, UK researchers said on Friday. Presenting real-world data on a subset of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the UK, the researchers said the findings showed some level of "vaccine failure" - in other words cases where vaccinated people still become infected and get sick - but that this was "not unexpected."

Indian states run out of COVID-19 vaccines, nationwide inoculation delayed

Several Indian states have run out of coronavirus vaccines a day before a planned widening of a nationwide inoculation drive, authorities said on Friday, as new infections surged to another daily record. New cases in the past 24 hours stood at 386,452, while deaths jumped by 3,498, health ministry data show. Medical experts believe actual numbers may be five to 10 times greater than the official tally, however.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Indian states run out of COVID-19 vaccines

Explainer: What we know about the Indian variant as coronavirus sweeps South Asia

India has recorded the world's sharpest spike in coronavirus infections this month, with political and financial capitals New Delhi and Mumbai running out of hospital beds, oxygen and medicines. Scientists are studying what led to an unexpected surge, and particularly whether a variant of the novel coronavirus first detected in India is to blame. The variant, named B.1.617, has been reported in some 17 countries, raising global concern. Here are the basics: