Health News Roundup: Mexico says to receive up to 8.5 million COVID-19 vaccines from U.S; Pentagon to seek approval to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Mexico says to receive up to 8.5 million COVID-19 vaccines from U.S

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday the U.S. government will in the coming weeks send Mexico 3.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by drugmaker Moderna, as well as up to 5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Pentagon to seek approval to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory

The Pentagon on Monday said that it will seek U.S. President Joe Biden's approval by mid-September to require 1.3 million military members to get vaccinated against COVID-19, anticipating full regulatory clearance for a vaccine by then. After setting COVID-19 rules for federal workers, Biden last month directed the Pentagon to look into "how and when" it would require members of the military to take the vaccine.

Australian researchers develop hydrogel to combat Parkinson's

Australian researchers have created a hydrogel that could be used as a one-off intervention to treat Parkinson's disease and possibly other neurological conditions, a member of the development team said in an interview with Reuters. Researchers from the Australian National University, in collaboration with the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, have developed a gel made up of amino acids, which can be injected into the brain to help repair the damage.

Nearly 60% of Americans at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19 - CDC

Nearly 60% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The agency said 195,222,906 people, or 58.8% of the total population, have had at least one shot while 157,888,305 people, or 61.1% of the adult population, are fully vaccinated.

Unvaccinated Germans face more COVID tests to avoid restrictions

Germany needs to increase testing and boost vaccinations to avoid another COVID-19 lockdown, the conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as the chancellor said on Tuesday before government talks to curb a rise in new cases. Less than seven weeks before a federal election, Merkel and leaders of the 16 federal states will try to agree on measures to avoid a new wave of infections, driven by the spread of the Delta variant, and avert unpopular restrictions.

S. Korea approves Phase III trial of SK Bioscience's COVID-19 vaccine

South Korea gave vaccine developer SK Bioscience the green light on Tuesday for a Phase III study of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate at a time of vaccine shortages when a spurt in infections is fuelling demand. The clinical trial of GBP510, the candidate for the first domestic vaccine, will weigh its immunogenicity and safety against AstraZeneca Plc's vaccine, drug safety minister Kim Gang-lip told a news conference.

Moderna may be superior to Pfizer against Delta; breakthrough odds rise with time

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19. Moderna's vaccine may be best against Delta

Bayer loses third appeals case over glyphosate weedkiller

Bayer lost the third appeal against U.S. court verdicts that awarded damages to customers blaming their cancers on the use of its glyphosate-based weedkillers, leaving the German drugs and pesticides group to pin hopes for legal relief on the U.S. Supreme Court. A California appeals court late on Monday upheld an $86 million verdict that found Bayer responsible for a couple's cancer after using Bayer's glyphosate-based Roundup against weeds.

Arkansas nearly out of ICU beds as Delta variant fuels U.S. pandemic

Only eight intensive care unit beds were available on Monday in the state of Arkansas, its governor said, as the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus pushed cases and hospitalizations in the United States to a six-month high. In neighboring Texas, Governor Greg Abbott asked hospitals to postpone elective surgeries as the variant raged through swathes of the country including many southern states grappling with low vaccination rates.

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