Health News Roundup: Australia's New South Wales flags lockdown extension after record cases; Australia's New South Wales flags lockdown extension after record cases and more

Around 93% of COVID-19 cases in recent days have occurred in counties with vaccination rates of less than 40%, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky told a media briefing. Brazil registers record deaths, lowest number of births for Jan-June period Brazil registered the highest number of deaths and lowest number of births in the first six months of the year since comparable data was first compiled in 2003, the national association of notary offices said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Australia's New South Wales flags lockdown extension after record cases

The leader of Australia's New South Wales state on Friday said lockdown restrictions in state capital Sydney would have to be extended beyond July 16 unless there is a "dramatic change", as the state reported its biggest rise in local cases for the year. "New South Wales is facing the biggest challenge we have faced since the pandemic started," state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

St. Jude Medical to pay $27 million to settle allegations over heart devices

St. Jude Medical, which was acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2017, has agreed to pay $27 million to settle allegations it knowingly sold defective heart devices, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. It said St. Jude allegedly failed to disclose serious adverse health events in connection with premature battery depletion in certain models of its implantable defibrillators that were sold between November 2014 and October 2016.

Cuba says second COVID-19 vaccine Soberana 2 boasts 91.2% efficacy

Cuba said on Thursday its two-shot Soberana 2 vaccine, delivered with a booster called Soberana Plus, had proven 91.2% effective in late stage clinical trials against the coronavirus, following similar news about its Abdala vaccine. The announcement came from state-run biopharmaceutical corporation BioCubaFarma, which oversees the Finlay Institute, the maker of Soberana 2, and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, the producer of Abdala. Last month, Abdala was found to have a 92.28% efficacy.

Caseloads climb as Southeast Asia feels the force of Delta variant

Having escaped the worst when the coronavirus pandemic erupted last year, Southeast Asia is now suffering record rises in deaths and cases, while vaccination shortfalls and highly contagious variants have derailed containment efforts. As countries like Britain, Germany and France prepare to remove most remaining restrictions after devastating outbreaks, governments in Southeast Asia have been tightening measures, hoping targeted lockdowns will act as circuit-breakers in arresting dramatic spikes after cases started rising in May.

Pfizer to seek U.S. authorization for COVID booster shot as Delta variant spreads

Pfizer Inc plans to ask U.S. regulators to authorize a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine within the next month, the drugmaker's top scientist said on Thursday, based on evidence of greater risk of reinfection six months after inoculation and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, however, in a joint statement that Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster COVID-19 shot at this time.

U.S. administers 332.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 332,345,797 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Thursday morning and distributed 385,495,790 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 331,651,464 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by July 7.

South Korea puts Seoul under tightest COVID curbs amid new case records

From Monday South Korea will for the first time tighten coronavirus curbs to the strictest level possible in Seoul and neighboring regions, as alarm spreads with new COVID-19 cases setting a second consecutive daily record nationwide. South Korea, which has so far fared better than many industrialised nations in case numbers and deaths, reported 1,316 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Thursday, up from Wednesday's previous record of 1,275.

15 more U.S. states reach settlement in OxyContin maker Purdue bankruptcy

Fifteen more states reached an agreement with Purdue Pharma LP and members of its wealthy Sackler family owners that moved the OxyContin maker a step closer to resolving widespread opioid litigation and exiting bankruptcy protection. All but a handful of states nationwide now support Purdue's bankruptcy plan, with the latest agreement emerging after weeks of mediation.

U.S. COVID-19 cases rising, mostly among unvaccinated - officials

U.S. COVID-19 cases are up around 11% over the previous week, almost entirely among people who have not been vaccinated, officials said on Thursday, as the highly infectious Delta variant becomes the dominant COVID-19 strain in the country. Around 93% of COVID-19 cases in recent days have occurred in counties with vaccination rates of less than 40%, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky told a media briefing.

Brazil registers record deaths, the lowest number of births for the Jan-June period

Brazil registered the highest number of deaths and lowest number of births in the first six months of the year since comparable data was first compiled in 2003, the national association of notary offices said on Thursday. Brazil has the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world behind the United States, with 323,117 of the 528,540 total deaths from the disease being registered in the January-June period this year, according to the Health Ministry.