Health News Roundup: S.Korea daily COVID-19 cases top 3,000 for first time after holiday; Australia's Victoria state logs record infections ahead of key sporting event and more

Authorities expect case numbers in the state to keep rising until mid November as it races to raise vaccination rates above the 70% double dose threshold, up from around 46% currently. Explainer-What is the role of outside advisers to the U.S. FDA and CDC in vaccine decisions? The U.S. CDC on Friday backed a booster shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for Americans aged 65 and older, adults with underlying medical conditions and those in high-risk working and institutional settings despite calls for a narrower scope by a panel of expert advisers that would exclude the latter group.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

S.Korea daily COVID-19 cases top 3,000 for first time after holiday

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases topped 3,000 for the first time on Saturday as an outbreak fuelled by a three-day holiday this week continued to grow. The country reported 3,273 COVID-19 cases for Friday, a day after hitting the previous high, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Saturday.

Australia's Victoria state logs record infections ahead of key sporting event

Australia's Victoria state notched up a daily record of 847 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and one death, government figures showed on Saturday as health officials warned the public to stay home ahead of a major national sporting final. Authorities expect case numbers in the state to keep rising until mid-November as it races to raise vaccination rates above the 70% double dose threshold, up from around 46% currently.

Explainer-What is the role of outside advisers to the U.S. FDA and CDC in vaccine decisions?

The U.S. CDC on Friday backed a booster shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for Americans aged 65 and older, adults with underlying medical conditions, and those in high-risk working and institutional settings despite calls for a narrower scope by a panel of expert advisers that would exclude the latter group. The following describes the role and scope of advisory panels to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

White House says millions of government contractors must be vaccinated by Dec. 8

The White House said on Friday that millions of federal contractors must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8 and that the administration will add clauses to future government contracts mandating inoculations. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Sept. 9 requiring federal contractors to mandate vaccinations, but many U.S. companies with federal contracts have awaited formal guidance from the White House before moving forward.

Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Booster shots to bolster immunity against the coronavirus would be free and accessible, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday, a day after federal health agencies backed a booster rollout, and he pledged to get his own shot as soon as possible. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

U.S. CDC backs COVID-19 boosters for high-risk adults, workers, older Americans

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday backed a booster shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for Americans aged 65 and older, adults with underlying medical conditions, and adults in high-risk working and institutional settings. The decision by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is aligned with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authorization of the shot earlier this week and follows an August announcement of a broad booster rollout from her and other top U.S. health officials.

El Salvador to begin giving third dose of COVID-19 vaccine

El Salvador will begin administering a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to various groups including the elderly, healthworkers, and people with underlying health conditions, President Nayib Bukele said on Friday. The Central American nation of roughly 6.4 million people has obtained some 12 million vaccines since February.

India tells Quad will allow export of 8 million Indo-Pacific vaccine doses

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told fellow leaders of the Quad partnership on Friday India will allow the export of 8 million COVID-19 vaccines by end of October in line with a deal reached by the grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States in March, India's foreign secretary said on Friday. A plan reached by the Quad earlier this year to supply a billion COVID-19 shots across Asia by the end of 2022 stalled after India, the world's largest vaccine producer, banned exports in April amid a massive COVID outbreak at home.

U.S. House passes abortion rights bill, outlook poor in Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Friday to protect abortion services against growing Republican-backed state restrictions, including a Texas law that imposes a near-total ban on abortion, but the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate. The Democratic-controlled House voted 218-211 largely along party lines to pass the legislation called the Women's Health Protection Act. Just one Democrat, Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas, voted against the proposal.

Newly signed Texas law restricts abortion-inducing medications

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday signed a new law that restricts access to abortion-inducing medications, just weeks after the state rolled out a near-total ban on abortion procedures. The law on medications prohibits mail-order abortion-inducing drugs and says doctors in the state are only allowed to prescribe them up to seven weeks after conception. Previously that restriction was set at 10 weeks.

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