Health News Roundup: Russian COVID deaths hit 4th straight record a week before new curbs; England's COVID prevalence rises to new highest level since January, ONS says and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Russian COVID deaths hit 4th straight record a week before new curbs

Russia reported a fourth straight daily record of COVID-19 deaths on Friday, with still a week to go before the start of a nationwide workplace shutdown ordered by President Vladimir Putin to try to curb a rise in infections. Authorities said 1,064 people had died in the previous 24 hours, with new infections hitting a second successive daily record at 37,141.

England's COVID prevalence rises to new highest level since January, ONS says

The prevalence of COVID-19 infections in England increased to around 1 in 55 people in the week ending Oct 16, Britain's Office for National Statistics said on Friday, once again at its highest level since January. The ONS said that the prevalence of infections had risen for its fourth straight week, having been at 1 in 60 people in the previous week.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: German COVID-19 cases jump as state leaders discuss response

Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shows 90.7% efficacy in trial in children

The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy against the coronavirus in a clinical trial of children 5 to 11 years old, the U.S. drugmaker said on Friday. Sixteen children in the trial who had received a placebo got COVID-19, compared with 3 who were vaccinated, Pfizer said in briefing documents submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Norway opts not to give 12-15 year-olds second vaccine doses yet

Norway will hold off giving children aged 12-15 the second dose of a vaccine against COVID-19 until it has gathered more research, partly due to a rare side effect involving inflammation of the heart, health authorities said on Friday. The Nordic country has so far only recommended using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to minors.

Melbourne reopens as world's most locked-down city eases pandemic restrictions

Melbourne residents flocked to the city's pubs, restaurants, and hair salons in the early hours of Friday after the world's most locked-down city emerged from its latest spate of restrictions designed to combat the spread of COVID-19. Australia's second-largest city has so far endured 262 days, or nearly nine months, of restrictions during six separate lockdowns since March 2020, representing the longest cumulative lockdown for any city in the world.

Belgium enters fourth COVID-19 infection wave as cases jump

Belgium's daily COVID-19 cases have jumped to the highest level in almost a year, prompting health experts to say that the fourth wave of infections has begun. Data from the Sciensano health institute showed on Friday that the country registered nearly 6,500 new cases on Oct. 18. That is as many as on Nov. 10, 2020, a few days before the government imposed a second lockdown.

Moscow expects record number of COVID-19 cases in coming days - report

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin expects COVID-19 infections to hit new records in the Russian capital either at the end of this week or early next week, the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying on Friday. Moscow will reimpose a partial lockdown from Oct. 28, with only essential shops including pharmacies and supermarkets allowed to remain open, as Russia reports record numbers of new cases and deaths from COVID-19.

Many Indians unlikely to be fully vaccinated by year-end despite ample COVID shots

Tens of millions of Indian adults are unlikely to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of 2021, despite ample supplies, due to an unusually large gap between the doses of the most widely-used vaccine and growing complacency as cases fall. The locally-produced AstraZeneca vaccine which is known as Covishield has a 12 to the 16-week gap between doses, in contrast to the 8 to 12-week gap recommended by the World Health Organization.

Americans can mix and match COVID-19 boosters but original vaccine recommended -Fauci

Americans can choose a COVID-19 booster shot that is different from their original inoculation but the recommendation is to stick with the vaccine they got first if it is available, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Friday. "It's generally recommended that you get the booster that is the original regimen that you got in the first place," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview with CNN.

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