Health News Roundup: Indonesia president confirms emergency measures to apply July 3-20; Germany catches up with U.S. in vaccination drive and more

The German government came under fire for the sluggish start to its vaccination campaign earlier this year, particularly in comparison with countries such as the United States, Britain and Israel, but it has since ramped up quickly. India's Zydus Cadila seeks emergency use approval of COVID-19 vaccine Indian drugmaker Zydus Cadila said on Thursday it has applied to the country's drug regulator for emergency use approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, which showed a 66.6% efficacy against positive cases in an interim analysis.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Indonesia president confirms emergency measures to apply July 3-20

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Thursday that tougher social restrictions would be in place from July 3-20 to stem a spike in coronavirus cases. "With cooperation from all of us and the grace of God, I'm certain that we can suppress COVID-19 transmission and restore people's lives quickly," he said. Details of the restrictions are expected to be announced later on Thursday.

Germany catches up with U.S. in vaccination drive

Germany has caught up with the United States in terms of the proportion of the population having had one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, the health minister said on Wednesday, adding the more infectious Delta variant meant it was important to keep up the pace. The German government came under fire for the sluggish start to its vaccination campaign earlier this year, particularly in comparison with countries such as the United States, Britain, and Israel, but it has since ramped up quickly.

India's Zydus Cadila seeks emergency use approval of COVID-19 vaccine

Indian drugmaker Zydus Cadila said on Thursday it has applied to the country's drug regulator for emergency use approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, which showed a 66.6% efficacy against positive cases in an interim analysis. The candidate, if approved, would become India's second successful home-grown COVID-19 shot and help ease the country's severe vaccine shortage.

India reports 48,786 new COVID-19 cases

India reported on Thursday 48,786 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, data from the health ministry showed, with the active caseload at 523,257.

COVID-19 cases worsen in Latin America, no end in sight - health agency

Cases of COVID-19 may be declining in North America but in most of Latin America and the Caribbean the end to the coronavirus pandemic "remains a distant future", the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Wednesday. While infections in the United States, Canada, and Mexico are falling, in Latin America and the Caribbean cases are rising and vaccination is lagging badly. Only one in ten people have been fully vaccinated, which PAHO director Carissa Etienne called "an unacceptable situation."

France delays some regional unwinding of COVID restrictions over fourth wave concerns

France decided on Wednesday to delay the unwinding of COVID-19 restrictions in a southwestern region of the country, while the government's leading scientific adviser said a fourth wave of the virus was likely to the emergence of the Delta variant. Scientific and medical experts say the COVID Delta variant, first found in India, is more transmissible than other forms of the virus, and the Delta variant's rapid spread around the world has led some countries to reimpose travel restrictions.

Putin, in COVID-19 vaccine push, says he got Sputnik V shot

President Vladimir Putin told Russians on Wednesday to get vaccinated against COVID-19 amid a wave of cases and said for the first time that he had received Russia's Sputnik V shot.

The Kremlin had previously said that Putin, 68, received a two-dose vaccine in March and April, but it gave no further details and did not release images of him getting it.

Britain starts planning for vaccine booster shots from September

Britain is starting to plan for a COVID-19 vaccine booster campaign starting later this year after top vaccine advisers said it might be necessary to give third shots to the elderly and most vulnerable from September. The government said that a final decision on whether a vaccine booster campaign was needed had not been made, but officials had advised that preparations should begin on a precautionary basis.

Tokyo mom creates COVID-19 vaccination database amid information vacuum

Balancing a new software programming job and caring for a toddler in Tokyo, LaShawn Toyoda saw increasing confusion in her social media feeds among non-Japanese speakers about how they could get a COVID-19 vaccine. The 36-year-old, a former English teacher who had recently completed an intensive coding course as part of a pandemic-prompted career change, decided she had the skills to help ease concerns amid a lack of clear direction from officials.

CureVac COVID-19 vaccine records only 48% efficacy in final trial readout

CureVac said its COVID-19 vaccine was 48% effective in the final analysis of its pivotal mass trial, only marginally better than the 47% reported after an initial read-out two weeks ago. The German biotech firm said that efficacy, measured by preventing symptomatic disease, was slightly better at 53% when excluding trial participants older than 60 years, an age group that is by far the most severely affected.