Health News Roundup: Analysis-FDA vaccine advisers face thorny question: Are COVID-19 boosters needed?; UK panel does not recommend COVID vaccines for healthy 12- to 15-year-olds and more

At the current rate of vaccination, new COVID-19 cases could surge past the peak of Canada's third wave and could exceed hospital capacity within months, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said. Moderna seeks EU authorization for COVID-19 vaccine booster dose Moderna Inc said on Friday it had asked the EU drugs regulator for conditional approval of a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine at a 50 microgram dose.


Reuters | Updated: 04-09-2021 10:44 IST | Created: 04-09-2021 10:30 IST
Health News Roundup: Analysis-FDA vaccine advisers face thorny question: Are COVID-19 boosters needed?; UK panel does not recommend COVID vaccines for healthy 12- to 15-year-olds and more
Representative Image. Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Analysis-FDA vaccine advisers face thorny question: Are COVID-19 boosters needed?

Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are expected to discuss two key questions when they meet on Sept. 17 to consider a COVID-19 vaccine booster campaign this fall: Is protection from the initial shots waning, and will boosters help? The debate will likely be heated following the Biden Administration's announcement last month - before the experts could weigh in - that the U.S. plans to start booster doses Sept. 20 if regulators approve them.

UK panel does not recommend COVID vaccines for healthy 12- to 15-year-olds

Britain's vaccine advisers said they were not recommending the vaccination of all 12- to 15-year-olds against COVID-19, preferring a precautionary approach in healthy children due to a rare side effect of heart inflammation. The advice could see Britain pursue a different approach to the United States, Israel and some European countries, which have rolled out vaccinations to children more broadly.

U.S. COVID-19 booster shot campaign to start with only Pfizer - source

A White House plan to offer COVID-19 booster shots will most likely start this month only with the vaccine made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, a narrower initiative than anticipated, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. President Joe Biden had expected to launch a campaign to administer 100 million booster shots on Sept. 20. But U.S. vaccine makers other than Pfizer have lagged in seeking authorization of an additional dose.

Planned Parenthood wins restraining order against Texas anti-abortion group

A Texas judge on Friday temporarily barred an anti-abortion group from suing Planned Parenthood to enforce a near-total ban on abortion in the state, handing the nation's largest abortion provider a small victory in the bitter legal fight. Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted Planned Parenthood a temporary restraining order against the anti-abortion group, Texas Right to Life, blocking the group and its allies from using an unusual mechanism of the Texas law that enables private citizens to sue anyone who provides or "aids or abets" an abortion after six weeks.

Australia's reports record daily COVID-19 cases, braces for worse

Australia, struggling to quell its worst wave of COVID-19, reported 1,756 infections on Saturday, another record high, and officials warned that worse is yet to come, urging people to get vaccinated. Most of the cases were again in New South Wales, which has been fighting an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant since mid-June. The state reported 1,533 new cases and four further deaths.

New Zealand reports first death from Delta variant of COVID-19

New Zealand reported on Saturday the first death from the Delta variant of the new coronavirus and 20 further daily infections, all in Auckland, the epicentre of the outbreak. The woman who died was in her 90s and had a number of underlying health conditions, health officials said in a statement. It is the first coronavirus-related death in the country since mid-February.

As COVID surges, more Florida school districts revolt against governor's mask ban

In a scene replayed across the United States, angry parents and activists streamed into a meeting of the Florida's Lake County school board on Thursday where it considered whether to mandate mask-wearing for students and staff due to COVID. Some opponents of the mask proposal brandished signs that read “Let Our Children Breathe.” Even with Florida seeing a record number of coronavirus cases, one attendee called the pandemic "overblown." Another was escorted out by deputies after yelling at board members.

EU reviewing risk of rare inflammation after COVID-19 vaccinations

Europe's medicines regulator said on Friday it was reviewing if COVID-19 vaccines caused a risk of a rare inflammatory condition, following a report of a case with Pfizer/BioNTech's shot. The safety panel of the European Medicines Agency is looking into Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS) after the condition was reported in a 17-year-old male in Denmark, the agency said.

Canada sees urgent need to get more young people vaccinated

New modeling shows an "urgent need" to get more young adults in Canada vaccinated as the country fights the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Delta variant, the public health agency said on Friday. At the current rate of vaccination, new COVID-19 cases could surge past the peak of Canada's third wave and could exceed hospital capacity within months, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said.

Moderna seeks EU authorization for COVID-19 vaccine booster dose

Moderna Inc said on Friday it had asked the EU drugs regulator for conditional approval of a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine at a 50 microgram dose. The company also said it had completed data submission for the use of a third booster dose of its two-shot vaccine to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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

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