Health News Roundup: Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine protection wanes, makes case for booster; Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus and more

Biden, a Democrat, re-opened the online health insurance marketplace to give more Americans a chance to take advantage of benefits provided under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. White House: CDC committee will meet next week on COVID-19 boosters The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet next week to discuss COVID-19 booster shots, the White House said on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

White House plans new system for international travel, contract tracing rules

The United States is developing a "new system for international travel" that will include contact tracing for when it eventually lifts travel restrictions that bar much of the world's population from entering the country, a senior White House official said on Wednesday. White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients told the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board the administration does not plan to immediately relax any travel restrictions citing COVID-19 Delta variant cases in the United States and around the world.

U.S. administers 382.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 382,294,795 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Wednesday morning and distributed 461,117,525 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 381,453,265 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Sept. 14 out of 458,771,465 doses delivered.

Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

COVID-19 infections have risen by a third in North America over the past week due to surges in the United States and Canada, while most South American countries are seeing a fall in cases and deaths, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

Unvaccinated children suffering COVID impact, Americas health agency warns

As more adults get their COVID-19 vaccines, children who are not yet eligible for vaccination in most countries are representing a larger percentage of hospitalizations and even deaths, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned on Wednesday. Nine months in to this year, infections among children and adolescents in the Americas have surpassed 1.9 million cases, and they face significant health risks, the regional branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Analysis - U.S. hopes COVID vaccine boosters will decrease not just deaths, but virus spread

U.S. officials preparing to roll out COVID-19 booster shots in the face of waning vaccine protection and surging hospitalizations and deaths caused by the highly contagious Delta variant are hoping boosters might prevent mild cases as well. In theory, that could reduce virus transmission - a goal officials have been less explicit about - and hasten America's recovery.

Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine protection wanes, makes case for booster

New data from Moderna Inc's large COVID-19 vaccine trial shows that the protection it offers declines over time, supporting the case for booster doses, the company said in a news release on Wednesday. Several recent studies have suggested that its vaccine may have an edge over a similar shot from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE in terms of maintaining efficacy over time.

Nearly 3 million Americans sign up for healthcare during special enrollment period

Nearly three million Americans have signed up for health insurance on the U.S. government website Healthcare.gov during a special enrollment period that began on Feb. 15, President Joe Biden said in a statement on Wednesday. Biden, a Democrat, re-opened the online health insurance marketplace to give more Americans a chance to take advantage of benefits provided under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

White House: CDC committee will meet next week on COVID-19 boosters

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet next week to discuss COVID-19 booster shots, the White House said on Wednesday. The CDC committee meeting will follow a separate meeting of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee this Friday and will consider for whom the use of a booster shot for the vaccine made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE is appropriate.

FDA staff say Pfizer COVID-19 boosters may not be needed, but do improve immunity

U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists said on Wednesday that booster doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine may not be needed, even though the third shot generates a higher immune response in recipients. The FDA staff members said in a document prepared for outside advisors that it is still unproven that the efficacy of Comirnaty - the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer developed with Germany's BioNTech SE - is declining.

U.S. will focus on tackling climate crisis, COVID at UN meeting -State Dept

The United States will focus next week at the United Nations General Assembly meeting, along with other countries, on an agenda including tackling climate change and countering the COVID-19 pandemic, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told a briefing on Wednesday.

(With inputs from agencies.)