Health News Roundup: U.S. administers 407.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines -CDC; Britain records 43,423 new COVID cases, 148 deaths and more

The agency is also considering lowering the recommended age for booster shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to people as young as 40, FDA official Dr. Peter Marks told the advisory panel. Russia's reports record-high daily COVID-19 infections Russia reported 34,303 cases of new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, a record-high number since the start of the pandemic, data from the state coronavirus task force showed on Sunday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. administers 407.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines -CDC

The United States has administered 407,446,961 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday morning and distributed 494,918,755 doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Thee figures are up from the 406,570,875 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Oct. 15 out of 493,139,295 doses delivered.

Britain records 43,423 new COVID cases, 148 deaths

Britain reported 43,423 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, government statistics showed, with the total number of cases recorded between Oct. 10 and Oct. 16 up 12.8% from the previous seven days. The daily data showed 148 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, with the seven-day total up 5.4% from the previous week.

Boeing workers stage protest near Seattle over U.S. vaccine mandate

Waving signs like "coercion is not consent," and "stop the mandate," some 200 Boeing Co employees and others staged a protest on Friday over the planemaker's COVID-19 vaccine requirement for U.S. workers. Boeing said on Tuesday it will require its 125,000 U.S. employees to be vaccinated by Dec. 8 under an executive order issued by President Joe Biden for federal contractors.

Melbourne to ease world's longest COVID-19 lockdowns as vaccinations rise

Melbourne, which has spent more time under COVID-19 lockdowns than any other city in the world, is set to lift its stay-at-home orders this week, officials said on Sunday. By Friday, when some curbs will be lifted, the Australian city of 5 million people will have been under six lockdowns totalling 262 days, or nearly nine months, since March 2020.

Russia's daily COVID-19 death toll at record high as vaccination program stalls

Russia reported a record 1,002 deaths from coronavirus on Saturday, the first time the daily number has passed the 1,000-mark since the start of the pandemic. New COVID-19 cases, confirmed in the past 24 hours, were at 33,208, setting a record for the fifth consecutive day, the Russian coronavirus task force said.

Second J&J COVID-19 shot gets expert backing; FDA is looking at lowering age for Pfizer booster

Outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday unanimously recommended the agency authorize a second shot of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine for all recipients of the one-dose inoculation. The agency is also considering lowering the recommended age for booster shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to people as young as 40, FDA official Dr. Peter Marks told the advisory panel.

Russia's reports record-high daily COVID-19 infections

Russia reported 34,303 cases of new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, a record-high number since the start of the pandemic, data from the state coronavirus task force showed on Sunday. It also reported 997 deaths from the disease, five fewer than the daily record-high of 1,002 reported the previous day.

New Zealand vaccinates 2.5% of its people in a day in drive to live with COVID-19

New Zealand vaccinated at least 2.5% of its people on Saturday as the government tries to accelerate inoculations and live with COVID-19, preliminary health ministry data showed. Through an array of strategies, gimmicks and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's encouragement through the day, 124,669 shots were administered by late in the day in a country of 4.9 million.

Statins may slightly lower COVID-19 death risk; using a different vaccine as booster may offer more protection

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. Statins may protect slightly against COVID-19 death

U.S. will accept mixed doses of vaccines from international travelers

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said late on Friday that it will accept mixed-dose coronavirus vaccines from international travelers, a boost to travelers from Canada and other places. The CDC said last week that it would accept any vaccine authorized for use by U.S. regulators or the World Health Organization. "While CDC has not recommended mixing types of vaccine in a primary series, we recognize that this is increasingly common in other countries so should be accepted for the interpretation of vaccine records," a CDC spokeswoman said.

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