Health News Roundup: UK's Exscientia, Gates Foundation partner to develop variant-resistant COVID-19 drugs; Vietnam to mix Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines - media and more

The program will initially focus on agents against the SARS-CoV-2 and its variants as well as other coronaviruses. Vietnam to mix Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines - media Vietnam's health ministry will offer the coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech as a second dose option for people first inoculated with the Moderna vaccine, state media reported on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

UK's Exscientia, Gates Foundation partner to develop variant-resistant COVID-19 drugs

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would make a $35 million equity investment in privately owned Exscientia Ltd to fund the development of antiviral drugs including the coronavirus, the Oxford-based drug developer said on Wednesday. Exscientia will make a matching contribution and lead the development of up to five therapeutics, which are ready to enter human trials. The program will initially focus on agents against the SARS-CoV-2 and its variants as well as other coronaviruses.

Vietnam to mix Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines - media

Vietnam's health ministry will offer the coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech as a second dose option for people first inoculated with the Moderna vaccine, state media reported on Wednesday. The ministry had approved the mixed regimen, which is due to low supplies of the Moderna vaccine. Both vaccines are of the Messenger RNA (mRNA) type.

All aboard! Thai bus brings vaccines to Bangkok's vulnerable

Thailand's capital launched on Wednesday a pilot bus service to ensure that the elderly and other vulnerable groups in Bangkok are vaccinated against COVID-19, underscoring the country's push to speed up its inoculation campaign. Driven by the especially virulent Delta variant, Thai authorities have been struggling to contain the country's worst coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic.

Meningitis outbreak kills 129 in north-east Congo

A meningitis outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's north-eastern Tshopo province has killed 129 of the 267 people who have been infected since the first cases were discovered in June, the health minister said late on Tuesday. Tests carried out by the Institut Pasteur in Paris detected one of the most common types of the bacteria, Neisseria meningitides, which has the potential to cause large epidemics, the World Health Organization said.

Australia's NSW reports rise in COVID-19 cases; vaccinations accelerate

Three-quarters of people over the age of 16 in Australia's New South Wales (NSW) have now had at least their first vaccination dose, the state reported on Wednesday, along with the first rise in new infections in three days. Australia has locked down Sydney and Melbourne, its largest cities, after outbreaks from the highly infectious Delta variant in June ended months of little or no community transmission.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: S.Korea planning to live 'more normally' with COVID-19

Mexico's top court decriminalizes abortion in 'watershed moment'

Mexico's Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday that penalizing abortion is unconstitutional, a major victory for advocates of women's health and human rights, just as parts of the United States enact tougher laws against the practice. The decision in the world's second-biggest Roman Catholic country means that courts can no longer prosecute abortion cases, and follows the historic legalization of the right in Argentina, which took effect earlier this year.

Fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes set to begin

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes goes on trial on Wednesday in federal court, with prosecutors poised to lay out fraud charges against the former Silicon Valley star accused of lying about her now-defunct blood-testing startup once valued at $9 billion. In one of the most closely watched trials of a U.S. corporate executive in years, Holmes, 37, is accused of making false claims about the company, including that its devices designed to draw a drop of blood from a finger prick could run a range of tests more quickly and accurately than conventional laboratory means.

Biden to outline plan to curb coronavirus Delta variant as cases grow

President Joe Biden on Thursday will present a six-pronged strategy intended to fight the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus Delta variant and increase U.S. COVID-19 vaccinations, the White House said on Tuesday. The United States, which leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths, is struggling to stem a wave of infections driven by the variant even as officials try to persuade Americans who have resisted vaccination to get the shots. Rising caseloads have raised concerns as children head back to school, while also rattling investors and upending company return-to-office plans.

Novavax begins early-stage trial for combined influenza/COVID-19 vaccine

Vaccine developer Novavax Inc said on Wednesday it has initiated an early-stage study to test its combined flu and COVID-19 vaccine. The trial, to be conducted in Australia, will enroll 640 healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 70 years and who have either been previously infected with the coronavirus or given an authorized COVID-19 vaccine at least eight weeks prior to the study.

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