Health News Roundup: Indonesia to lift social aid, health spending amid COVID-19 curbs; U.S. administers over 328 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC and more

Data showed that the durability of immune response for recipients of its vaccine lasted at least eight months, the healthcare company said, adding that its vaccine was 85% effective and could also help prevent hospitalization and death. S.African medics threaten court action as staff shortages hit COVID response The South African Medical Association threatened on Thursday to take the government to court because scores of new junior doctors cannot find placements despite staff shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Indonesia to lift social aid, health spending amid COVID-19 curbs

Indonesia will increase spending on social assistance and healthcare in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases and to soften the blow on the economy with tougher restrictions set to take effect this week, its finance minister said on Friday. Sri Mulyani Indrawati said there will be additional cash assistance and an extension of electricity bill discounts, while some programs such as food assistance will be brought forward.

U.S. administers over 328 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States had administered 328,152,304 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Thursday morning and distributed 382,283,990 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 326,521,526 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by June 30 out of 381,949,830 doses delivered.

India's death toll from coronavirus crosses 400,000

India reached the grim milestone of 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Friday, half of them during a second wave in the past few months that overwhelmed the healthcare system and crematoriums. India has recorded 30.45 million cases since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, and is the second-most affected country behind the United States, which has 33 million cases.

J&J's COVID-19 vaccine shows promise against Delta variant

Johnson & Johnson said late Thursday that its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine showed strong promise against the Delta variant and other emerging strains and also provided durable protection against the infection more broadly. Data showed that the durability of immune response for recipients of its vaccine lasted at least eight months, the healthcare company said, adding that its vaccine was 85% effective and could also help prevent hospitalization and death.

S.African medics threaten court action as staff shortages hit COVID response

The South African Medical Association threatened on Thursday to take the government to court because scores of new junior doctors cannot find placements despite staff shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAMA said it was "scandalous" that, during the third wave of infections, 228 medical interns who graduated in March and April were waiting for the government to place them at public hospitals to complete their training.

Sick as a dog? Pets often catch COVID from humans, study finds

If you think you have COVID-19, it might be best to stay away from your pets, says the author of a Dutch study that found a surprising number of dogs and cats may be getting infected. "About one out of five pets will catch the disease from their owners," said Dr. Els Broens of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, although there are no known cases of the disease spreading from pets to humans.

Thailand reports third day of record coronavirus deaths

Thailand reported on Friday the third straight day of record coronavirus deaths, with 61 fatalities, as authorities struggle to tackle the country's latest wave of infections. The Southeast Asian country has now recorded 2,141 deaths from the virus since the pandemic started. The COVID-19 task force also reported 6,087 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections to 270,921.

China pledges funds to boost infectious disease prevention

China will provide funding to build new institutions and infrastructure to fight infectious diseases and improve healthcare, the state planning body said in a "five-year plan" for the sector. The central government will subsidize the construction of new "prevention bases" for infectious disease and new grassroots medical facilities across the country, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in the plan, published on Thursday.

Britain's COVID-19 cases up 72% in past week

Britain reported 27,989 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed on Thursday, the highest number since Jan. 29 and taking the rise in cases between June 25 and July 1 to nearly 72% compared with the previous seven days. A further 22 people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19, taking the seven-day rise to just under 11%.

Euro soccer tournament under fire for helping spread COVID-19

The Euro 2020 soccer tournament was on Thursday blamed for a surge in coronavirus cases as fans have flocked to stadiums, bars, and spectator zones across Europe to watch the action while the pandemic still raged. Germany's interior minister called European soccer's governing body UEFA "utterly irresponsible" for allowing big crowds at the tournament.