Health News Roundup: Indonesia's regional COVID-19 deaths higher than national tally - data monitor; Australian military to help enforce Sydney COVID-19 lockdown as cases rise and more

The campaign, a bid to fend off the coronavirus Delta variant, will effectively turn Israel into a testing ground for the booster before approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Factbox: Countries make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory A sharp upturn in new coronavirus infections due to the highly contagious Delta variant and a slowdown in vaccination rates have pushed governments to make COVID-19 jabs mandatory for health workers and other high-risk groups.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Indonesia's regional COVID-19 deaths higher than national tally - data monitor

Indonesia's regional COVID-19 deaths vastly outnumber its national tally, an independent organization that collects data on the Southeast Asian country's coronavirus outbreak said in a statement on Thursday. Indonesia is Asia's COVID-19 epicenter and has over the last week reported over 1,500 deaths a day, including a record 2,069 deaths on Tuesday. That tally does not include all regional deaths, however, meaning the true toll could be much higher, according to the Lapor COVID-19 data monitoring group.

Australian military to help enforce Sydney COVID-19 lockdown as cases rise

Australia's military will help enforce a lockdown in Sydney after the city of 6 million posted a record daily rise in COVID-19 cases on Thursday and state authorities said the outbreak was likely to get worse. The lockdown of Australia's biggest city has increased pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is now trailing in opinion polls, and heightened concern that Australia's A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy could slide into recession.

India's Kerala state orders lockdown as COVID-19 infections rise

India's southern state of Kerala on Thursday announced a two-day lockdown as federal authorities planned to send experts to fight the spread of infections in the country's leading COVID-19 hotspot. India's daily cases have fallen after a devastating second wave that overwhelmed the healthcare system, and vaccination efforts are gaining steam. But experts have warned the authorities against swiftly reopening cities.

Israel to offer Pfizer booster shots to people over 60 - Israeli news reports

Israel will begin offering a third shot of the Pfizer/Biontech COVID-19 vaccine to people over 60, Israel's Kan public radio and Channel 13 TV said on Thursday. The campaign, a bid to fend off the coronavirus Delta variant, will effectively turn Israel into a testing ground for the booster before approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Factbox: Countries make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory

A sharp upturn in new coronavirus infections due to the highly contagious Delta variant and a slowdown in vaccination rates have pushed governments to make COVID-19 jabs mandatory for health workers and other high-risk groups. A growing number of countries also stipulate that a jab, or a negative test, will be needed for dining out, among others.

Exclusive - AstraZeneca exploring options for COVID-19 vaccine business, exec says

AstraZeneca is exploring options for the future of its COVID-19 vaccine business and expects greater clarity on the matter by the end of 2021, a senior executive told Reuters on Thursday. The comments are the first time the drugmaker has publicly confirmed that it is reviewing the future of the business after a series of setbacks in its race to develop a shot for the world.

Emergent to resume J&J COVID-19 vaccine production at Baltimore plant

Emergent BioSolutions said on Wednesday it will resume production of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine at its troubled Baltimore facility, where operations were stopped in April after millions of doses were found to be contaminated. The resumption comes after J&J last week slashed its 2021 production target of its single-dose vaccine to between 500 million and 600 million doses from its original goal to produce a billion shots.

Exclusive - AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shipped to Canada, Mexico before adequate plant inspections

Canada and Mexico imported millions of doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine and offered them to the public without health officials properly inspecting the operations of the U.S. manufacturer, according to inspection records and the regulators involved. The Baltimore plant belonging to Emergent BioSolutions Inc was producing vaccines for both AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson under a $628 million U.S. government contract.

Pakistan to ban public sector, education, malls, air travel for unvaccinated

Pakistan will ban air travel for anyone without a COVID-19 vaccine certificate from Aug.1 and will require all public sector workers to get vaccinated by Aug. 31, the government announced on Thursday along with a host of other restrictions. From Aug. 1, unvaccinated people will no longer be allowed to enter government offices, schools, restaurants and shopping malls, said Asad Umar, who heads National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), a military-run body that oversees the pandemic response, at a joint news conference with the health minister in Islamabad.

Thailand warns COVID-19 surge pushing hospitals to the brink

Hospitals in Thailand's capital Bangkok and surrounding province are running out of beds due to a jump in COVID-19 patients, a health official said on Thursday, as the country reported a record number of infections for the fourth time this week. Thailand has in the last few months been struggling with its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, first detected in India.