Health News Roundup: Sinopharm's COVID booster reverses antibody decline, enhances cell-based responses - study; EU unsure if women face higher risk of clots from AstraZeneca shot and more

It also showed the booster enhanced cell-based responses to the coronavirus. EU unsure if women face higher risk of clots from AstraZeneca shot The European Union's drugs regulator could not confirm from available data if women and young adults were at a higher risk of rare blood clots with low platelets after vaccination with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Sinopharm's COVID booster reverses antibody decline, enhances cell-based responses - study

A third shot of Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine leads to a rebound in antibody levels that drop months after a second dose, a small-scale Chinese study showed. It also showed the booster enhanced cell-based responses to the coronavirus.

EU unsure if women face higher risk of clots from AstraZeneca shot

The European Union's drugs regulator could not confirm from available data if women and young adults were at a higher risk of rare blood clots with low platelets after vaccination with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot. Limitations in the way the data was collected meant that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) could not identify any specific risk factor that made the condition, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), more likely, it said on Friday.

England's COVID R number unchanged at 0.9-1.1

England's COVID-19 weekly reproduction "R" number was unchanged between 0.9 and 1.1, government estimates showed on Friday. An R number between 0.9 and 1.1 means that for every 10 people infected, they will on average infect between 9 and 11 other people.

U.S. COVID-19 booster debate moves to FDA vaccine advisory committee

The debate over whether Americans should receive a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine moves to a panel of independent expert advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday. While U.S. health officials, some other countries and vaccine makers have said boosters are needed, many scientists and vaccine experts disagree.

Trial over COVID-19 outbreak in Austria's 'Ibiza of the Alps' begins

A Vienna court on Friday heard the first of more than a dozen lawsuits being brought against Austria over an outbreak of the coronavirus at the ski resort of Ischgl in early 2020, where COVID-19 found a breeding ground in crowded bars. The outbreak at Ischgl, which branded itself "the Ibiza of the Alps", was Austria's biggest and helped spread the virus across Europe. Hundreds of Austrians were infected and thousands of foreign tourists, particularly in Germany, say they were too.

England's COVID-19 prevalence decreases to 1 in 80, ONS says

The prevalence of COVID-19 infections in England was around 1 in 80 people in the week ending Sept. 11, Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Friday, a slight decrease from the previous week's estimate of 1 in 70.

Coronavirus compounds climate disasters but shows action can work - Red Cross

The coronavirus has made it harder for authorities to respond to disasters caused by extreme weather fuelled by climate change, with more severe storms, floods and heatwaves affecting nearly 140 million people around the world, an aid organisation said. Almost half of those people live in the Asia-Pacific region, the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a report published this week.

British minister to simplify COVID-19 travel rules for England

The British government will set out measures to boost international travel later on Friday, helping airlines and holiday companies which say they will not survive another winter of onerous rules and red tape. While Europe has relaxed travel restrictions for the fully vaccinated, expensive COVID-19 testing requirements remain in place for fully vaccinated arrivals into Britain, holding back a travel recovery as the tougher winter period nears.

IMF, World Bank urge more COVID-19 vaccination doses to go to poor countries

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and other multilateral-organization leaders on Thursday urged countries with high COVID-19 vaccination rates to boost efforts to send doses to low- and middle-income countries.

Georgieva and the heads of the World Bank Group, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization expressed concern in a joint statement that it would not be possible to vaccinate at least 40% of the population in all countries by the end of 2021 without urgent action.

Indonesia may reopen to tourists from some countries in October - minister

Foreign tourists from certain countries may be able to enter the popular resort island of Bali and other parts of Indonesia next month, senior minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Friday. A decision will be made "cautiously", he said, first considering countries such as South Korea, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand, where the coronavirus situation is less severe, and depending on their ability to contain outbreaks in the coming weeks.

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