Health News Roundup: China reports 64 new COVID-19 cases as Delta resurgence continues in Nanjing; Biden wants state, local govt to pay $100 to newly vaccinated Americans -Treasury

Millions in Australia's largest city began one of the country's harshest lockdowns since the pandemic started, after nearly five weeks of increasingly tough restrictions failed to quell an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. Japan OKs administration of AstraZeneca shots after delay - media Japan on Friday approved the administration of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine after a few months' pause due to fears about potential side effects, local media reported.


Reuters | Updated: 30-07-2021 10:59 IST | Created: 30-07-2021 10:38 IST
Health News Roundup: China reports 64 new COVID-19 cases as Delta resurgence continues in Nanjing; Biden wants state, local govt to pay $100 to newly vaccinated Americans -Treasury
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Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China reports 64 new COVID-19 cases as Delta resurgence continues in Nanjing

China reported on Friday 64 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 29, compared with 49 cases a day earlier, the health authority said. The National Health Commission said in statement 21 of the new infections were local cases, compared with 24 the previous day. There were no new deaths.

Biden wants state, local govt to pay $100 to newly vaccinated Americans -Treasury

President Joe Biden is calling for the state, local, and U.S. territorial governments to provide $100 payments for every newly vaccinated American to boost COVID-19 inoculation rates, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday. The Treasury said in a statement that such incentives are an allowable use of funds from the $350 billion in aid granted to state, local, territorial, and tribal governments under the American Rescue Plan Act. The department added that it would provide technical assistance in using these funds to support increased vaccinations.

Biden pushes cash reward to get vaccinated, new rules for federal workers

President Joe Biden on Thursday urged local governments to pay people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and set new rules requiring federal workers to provide proof of vaccination or face regular testing, mask mandates, and travel restrictions. The measures are Biden's latest attempt to spur reluctant Americans to get vaccinated as the Delta variant of the coronavirus surges nationwide, infecting unvaccinated people in particular.

Sydney COVID-19 cases ease amid tightening of lockdown rules

Sydney on Friday reported a slight easing in locally acquired cases of COVID-19 amid a further tightening of restrictions in the worst-affected suburbs, with the military summoned to help enforce lockdown rules. Millions in Australia's largest city began one of the country's harshest lockdowns since the pandemic started, after nearly five weeks of increasingly tough restrictions failed to quell an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant.

Japan OKs administration of AstraZeneca shots after delay - media

Japan on Friday approved the administration of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine after a few months' pause due to fears about potential side effects, local media reported. Regulators approved the shot in May but paused the deployment amid lingering concerns about blood clots. Japan has so far relied on vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc in its inoculation push.

CanSinoBIO to trial combining its COVID vaccine with Russia's Sputnik V dose

China's CanSino Biologics (CanSinoBIO) may start as early as next month a clinical trial using Russia's Sputnik V vaccine followed by a shot of its own COVID-19 vaccine, a senior executive said late on Thursday. Combined dosage may help address a global shortage of the two-dose Sputnik V, which adopts a similar technique as the Chinese company's product, Pierre Morgon, senior vice president at CanSinoBIO, told Reuters. "[The combined use] is something that several countries have been asking for because the Russians have had difficulties in supplying the second dose in sufficient quantities compared to the first dose," Morgon said. He expected the trial to start around August and September. Morgon declined to disclose where the trial would be conducted as the information is yet to be made public, but he said it would not be in China or Russia. Both Sputnik V and the CanSinoBIO's shot are viral vector vaccines and use adenovirus that has been engineered to be harmless as a vector to carry the coronavirus' genetic information into the human body. The first dose of Sputnik V is based on adenovirus type 26, while the second dose and the CanSinoBIO vaccine contain adenovirus type 5. The trial, which will study the combined doses' safety and ability to trigger an immune response in adults, has obtained local authorities' endorsement, pending approval from the ethical committee, said Morgon. Clinical trials combining AstraZeneca Plc/Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine, which also uses a chimpanzee adenovirus vector, with Sputnik V had been approved in Russia, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, and Belarus.

Japan to expand state of emergency as COVID-19 shadows Olympics

Japan's government on Friday proposed states of emergency through Aug. 31 in three prefectures near Olympic host Tokyo and the western prefecture of Osaka, as COVID-19 cases spike to records, overshadowing the Summer Games. Existing states of emergency for Tokyo - its fourth since the pandemic began - and southern Okinawa island should also be extended to Aug. 31, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is spearheading Japan's pandemic response, told a panel of experts in announcing the proposed expansion.

South Pacific island nation mandates COVID-19 vaccination

The small South Pacific island nation of The Federated States of Micronesia has mandated that its adult population be inoculated against COVID-19 in an effort to continue to prevent the pandemic from reaching its shores. The Federated States of Micronesia, with a population just over 113,000 and covering more than 600 islands, has not recorded any locally acquired COVID-19 cases after it shut its international borders to prevent the spread of the virus.

India reports 44,230 new COVID-19 cases, overall tally at 31.57 million

India reported Friday 44,230 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, government data showed. The nationwide tally of infections reached 31.57 million, according to the health ministry.

CDC says Americans should wear masks in nearly 70% of U.S. counties

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday that 69.3% of U.S. counties had transmission rates of COVID-19 high enough to warrant indoor masking in public spaces and should immediately resume the policy. The transmission rate was up from 66.6% as of Wednesday. In total, 52.2% of U.S. counties have high COVID-19 community transmission rates and 17.1% have substantial rates, the CDC said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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