Health News Roundup: Biden gets COVID-19 booster shot as additional doses roll out; U.S. administers 390.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC and more

The review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) comes after its statement last week that it aims to decide in early October whether to endorse a booster for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, nearly a month after it started the evaluation process. Protein found on infected cells protects virus from immune system; remdesivir helps prevent hospitalization The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19.


Reuters | Updated: 28-09-2021 10:36 IST | Created: 28-09-2021 10:30 IST
Health News Roundup: Biden gets COVID-19 booster shot as additional doses roll out; U.S. administers 390.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC and more
Representative Image Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Biden gets COVID-19 booster shot as additional doses roll out

U.S. President Joe Biden rolled up his shirt sleeve and received a COVID-19 vaccine booster inoculation on Monday, hoping to provide a powerful example for Americans on the need to get the extra shot even as millions go without their first. "Boosters are important, but the most important thing we need to do is get more people vaccinated," he said, noting that about 23% of people in the United States have not received a shot.

U.S. administers 390.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 390,664,923 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Monday morning and distributed 471,818,715 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 390,114,328 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Sunday.

Japan to end COVID-19 state of emergency this month

Japan will lift a coronavirus state of emergency in all regions on Thursday as the number of new cases falls and the strain on the medical system eases, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said. The plan, approved by a government advisory panel, takes Japan as a whole out of an emergency state for the first time in nearly six months. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will hold a news conference at 7 p.m. (1000 GMT) to announce the decision after the plan is formalized by a government task force.

Sydney's unvaccinated warned of social isolation when COVID-19 lockdown ends

Sydney residents who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 risk being barred from various social activities even when they are freed from stay-at-home orders in December, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned on Tuesday. Under a roadmap to exit lockdown in Australia's biggest city, unvaccinated people are already subject to delays in freedoms that will be gradually granted to inoculated residents between Oct. 11 and Dec. 1.

India reports the smallest rise in COVID-19 deaths since mid-March

India reported 179 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, the smallest rise since the middle of March, taking the total to 447,373. Infections rose by 18,795, the smallest increase since early March, lifting the total to about 33.7 million, health ministry data showed.

Eisai, Biogen start U.S. accelerated approval for new Alzheimer's drug

Japanese drugmaker Eisai Co on Monday began its application process for its experimental drug for early Alzheimer's disease using an accelerated approval pathway, the same path that helped Eisai's development partner Biogen Inc win U.S. approval of its medication in June. The Biogen/Eisai drug Aduhelm was the first Alzheimer's treatment to win approval in nearly 20 years, but the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) controversial use of the accelerated approval process - which authorizes drugs for severe conditions without strong proof of a benefit to patients - has come under heavy fire.

New York hospitals fire, suspend staff who refuse COVID vaccine

New York hospitals on Monday began firing or suspending healthcare workers for defying a state order to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and resulting staff shortages prompted some hospitals to postpone elective surgeries or curtail services. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference the city's hospitals were not yet seeing a major impact from the mandate, adding he worried about other areas of the state where vaccination rates are lower.

EU reviewing data on Moderna's COVID-19 booster shot

The European Union's (EU) drug regulator said on Monday it was evaluating whether a booster dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine could be given at least six months after the second shot of the two-dose course in people over 12 years of age. The review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) comes after its statement last week that it aims to decide in early October whether to endorse a booster for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, nearly a month after it started the evaluation process.

Protein found on infected cells protects virus from immune system; remdesivir helps prevent hospitalization

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Virus-infected cells protected from the immune system by protein

Pfizer begins study of mRNA flu vaccine

Pfizer Inc said on Monday it had dosed the first patient in a trial testing a flu vaccine based on messenger RNA, the same technology used in the COVID-19 shots made by the U.S. drugmaker and BioNTech. The early-stage trial, conducted in the United States, will test the vaccine in healthy adults ages 65- 85.

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

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