Health News Roundup: Australia sees COVID-19 outbreak leveling off; New Zealand drops its COVID-19 elimination plan as Delta persists and more

This was the second straight year that organisers had to hold a drive-through ceremony to mark World Animal day - celebrated worldwide to recognise animal rights and welfare - to ensure the safety of the animals and owners. U.S. administers nearly 396 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC The United States had administered 395,934,825 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Sunday and distributed 478,410,525 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Australia sees COVID-19 outbreak levelling off

Australia's Delta outbreak appears to have leveled off, with more than half the country in extended lockdowns and vaccination rates starting to approach national targets, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Monday. Hunt said 80% of Australians will have had their first COVID-19 jabs this week, while the overall battle against the virus has been boosted by the arrival in recent days of 15,000 additional doses of treatment drug sotrovimab.

New Zealand drops its COVID-19 elimination plan as Delta persists

New Zealand on Monday abandoned its strategy of eliminating coronavirus, easing some COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in its biggest city Auckland, and will instead look to live with the virus while controlling its spread. The Pacific nation was among just a handful of countries to bring COVID-19 cases down to zero last year and largely stayed virus-free until an outbreak of the high infections Delta variant in mid-August frustrated efforts to stamp out transmission.

Israel requires COVID-19 booster shots for stricter "green pass"

Israel on Sunday piled pressure on its vaccinated citizens to get a booster shot by making only those who received their third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine eligible for a "green pass" allowing entry to restaurants, gyms, and many other venues.

Israel was an early adopter of Pfizer/BioNTech booster shots -- administering them to members of risk groups in July and by the end of August to anyone above the age of 12. Its campaign is being watched closely by other countries.

Philippines pets receive blessings in drive-through ceremony

Hundreds of animal lovers in the Philippines had their pets blessed via a drive-through ceremony on Sunday to mark World Animal Day and the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, forgoing the usual fanfare due to COVID-19. This was the second straight year that organizers had to hold a drive-through ceremony to mark World Animal day - celebrated worldwide to recognize animal rights and welfare - to ensure the safety of the animals and owners.

U.S. administers nearly 396 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States had administered 395,934,825 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Sunday and distributed 478,410,525 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. Those figures are up from the 394,690,283 vaccine doses that the CDC said had gone into arms by Saturday out of 478,362,045 doses delivered.

Amid COVID-19 booster data dilemma, EU nations' plans diverge

A patchwork of campaigns for an extra COVID-19 shot is being rolled out across the European Union even before the region's drug watchdog rules on whether they are safe and effective. Italy, France, Germany, and Ireland have already started to administer booster shots and the Netherlands plans to do so soon but only to people who are immuno-suppressed.

Cipla to sell Lilly's Trulicity, Humalog diabetes treatments in India

India's Cipla has signed a deal with Eli Lilly to sell and distribute two of the U.S. drugmaker's best-selling diabetes treatments in the country, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday. Lilly will transfer its rights in India to sell, promote and distribute its Trulicity and Humalog products while continuing to maintain its existing operating model for the remaining portfolio of its products, the companies said.

Russia sees no hurdles for WHO approval of Sputnik V vaccine

All the barriers to registering Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine with the World Health Organization (WHO) have been cleared and only some paperwork remains to be completed, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Saturday. The Sputnik V shot, widely used in Russia and approved for use in over 70 countries, is undergoing a review by the WHO and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Their approval could open up new markets for the shot, especially in Europe.

A few skeptical U.S. hospital workers choose dismissal over vaccine

Jennifer Bridges loved her job as a nurse at Houston Methodist Hospital, where she worked for eight years, but she chose to get fired rather than inoculated against COVID-19, believing that the vaccine was more of a threat than the deadly virus. Bridges was among about 150 employees who were fired or resigned rather than comply with the requirement at Methodist, which was the country's first large health system to mandate vaccinations. About 25,000 other employees at the hospital system complied.

China reports 27 new COVID-19 cases, down from 28 a day earlier

China reported 27 new COVID-19 cases on the mainland for Oct. 3, down from 28 a day earlier, the national health authority said on Monday. One of the new infections was locally transmitted and the rest imported, the National Health Commission said.

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