Health News Roundup: WHO backs malaria vaccine rollout for Africa's children in major breakthrough; Pfizer study to vaccinate whole Brazilian town against COVID-19 and more

The study will be conducted in Toledo, population 143,000, in the west of Parana state, together with Brazil's National Vaccination Program, local health authorities, a hospital and a federal university. Booster shot improves immune response of chemotherapy patients; post-COVID depression helped by widely used drugs The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

UK readying payment systems to charge for rapid COVID-19 testing -sources

Britain is aiming early next year to be ready to start charging for some previously free COVID-19 tests, two sources close to the health service said, a step one described as driven by the finance ministry's desire to rein in spending. The government and health officials have said that rapid testing, via easy-to-use lateral flow tests, is crucial for tracking the spread of COVID-19, with regular testing of those without symptoms identifying around a quarter of all cases.

COVID-19 infections dropping throughout the Americas, more vaccine needed, says health agency

The number of new COVID-19 infections has been dropping over the past month throughout the Americas, even though only 37% of the people in Latin America and the Caribbean are fully vaccinated, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. In the last week, 1.2 million people were confirmed with COVID-19 in the region, down from 1.5 million new cases the previous week.

WHO backs malaria vaccine rollout for Africa's children in major breakthrough

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday the only approved vaccine against malaria should be widely given to African children, potentially marking a major advance against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people annually. The WHO recommendation is for RTS,S - or Mosquirix - a vaccine developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.

Canada imposes COVID-19 vaccine mandate on federal workers, transportation

Canada will place unvaccinated federal employees on unpaid leave and require COVID-19 shots for air, train and ship passengers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, as he unveiled one of the world's strictest vaccine mandate policies. Federal employees will be required to declare their full vaccination status through an online portal by Oct. 29. Workers and passengers age 12 and older on trains, planes and marine transport operating domestically - which are federally regulated - must show they have been inoculated by Oct. 30.

Italy says mRNA COVID jab effectiveness stable after 7 months, but not for all

Seven months after the second dose, there is no reduction in the efficacy of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in the general population in Italy, while a slight decline is seen for some specific groups, the National Health Institute (ISS) said on Wednesday. The report led by ISS and the health ministry examined data up to Aug. 29 from more than 29 million people who had received two doses of an mRNA vaccine such as those produced by Pfizer and Moderna.

A Chilean tree holds hope for new vaccines - if supplies last

Down a dusty farm track in Chilean wine country, behind a wooden gate wrapped in chains, forestry experts are nursing a plantation of saplings whose bark holds the promise of potent vaccines. Quillay trees, technically known as Quillaja saponaria, are rare evergreens native to Chile that have long been used by the indigenous Mapuche people to make soap and medicine. In recent years, they have also been used to make a highly successful vaccine against shingles and the world’s first malaria vaccine, as well as foaming agents for products in the food, beverage and mining industries.

Pfizer study to vaccinate whole Brazilian town against COVID-19

Pfizer Inc will study the effectiveness of its vaccine against COVID-19 by inoculating the entire population over the age of 12 in a town in southern Brazil, the company said on Wednesday. The study will be conducted in Toledo, population 143,000, in the west of Parana state, together with Brazil's National Vaccination Program, local health authorities, a hospital and a federal university.

Booster shot improves immune response of chemotherapy patients; post-COVID depression helped by widely used drugs

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 have yet to be certified by peer review. Chemo patients' response to vaccine improves with booster

U.S. to invest another $1 billion in rapid COVID-19 tests

The U.S. government is committing to purchase an additional 180 million rapid COVID-19 tests for $1 billion, adding to the $2 billion test buying plan it announced in September, a top U.S. health official said on Wednesday. The combined purchases will help quadruple the United States' test output by December to around 200 million tests per month, Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said during a press call.

U.S. CDC's Walensky says COVID-19 death 7-day average remains constant at 1,400 per day

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday that the average number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations over the last seven days has dropped by 12% and 14% respectively, but cautioned that deaths remained constant at 1400 per day.

(With inputs from agencies.)