Health News Roundup: Australia to lift outbound travel ban for vaccinated residents from next week; Province of British Columbia to offer COVID-19 booster shots to all residents and more

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. Factbox: Australia prepares to reopen borders for first time during pandemic Australia will start lifting its outbound travel ban for fully vaccinated residents from Nov. 1 amid a strong uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, as Sydney and Melbourne, its biggest cities, prepare to welcome overseas travellers without quarantine.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Australia to lift outbound travel ban for vaccinated residents from next week

All fully-vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to leave the country without a special exemption from Nov. 1, authorities said on Wednesday, as Australia eases coronavirus restrictions amid a rise in vaccination rates. Australians have been unable to travel abroad for more than 18 months without a government waiver, while thousands of fully-vaccinated residents living abroad have been unable to return due to a cap on arrivals to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Province of British Columbia to offer COVID-19 booster shots to all residents

British Columbia will begin offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to everyone over the age of 12 from January, officials said on Tuesday, becoming the first major Canadian province to significantly widen eligibility for boosters. People over the age of 70 as well as indigenous people over 12 will be invited to book shots sooner than the new year, said Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province's medical officer of health. Residents of long-term and assisted living are already eligible.

Cortexyme's Alzheimer's treatment fails to meet main goals in study

Cortexyme Inc said on Tuesday its experimental oral pill failed to meet the main goals of improving cognitive and functional abilities in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease in a study. The drug, atuzaginstat, is designed to target the P. gingivalis bacteria found in the brain of patients suffering from the memory robbing disease.

Factbox-Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 244.58 million, death toll at 5,194,820

More than 244.58 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 5,194,820​ have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

Factbox: Australia prepares to reopen borders for first time during pandemic

Australia will start lifting its outbound travel ban for fully vaccinated residents from Nov. 1 amid a strong uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, as Sydney and Melbourne, its biggest cities, prepare to welcome overseas travellers without quarantine. Unvaccinated travellers will still be allowed entry if they agree to undergo the two-week mandatory quarantine upon arrival.

U.S. FDA advisers back Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children

An expert panel on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to recommend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorize the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, saying the benefits of the shot outweigh the risks. An authorization for that age group would be would be an important regulatory step toward reaching about 28 million children for inoculation, most of them back in school for in-person learning.

U.S. administers over 415 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 415,012,026 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Tuesday morning and distributed 504,584,715 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 414,302,192 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Oct. 25 out of 503,418,475 doses delivered.

Factbox - Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

China is demanding faster and more accessible COVID-19 testing services in its latest effort to reinforce a zero-tolerance policy, while Russia and Bulgaria reported a record number of daily deaths. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

Russia puts onus on regional leaders to step up COVID fight

Russia ordered regional leaders on Tuesday to step up their fight against COVID-19 as the daily death toll hit a record for the sixth time in eight days. Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said infections were up by more than 10% in the past week and 268,500 people were receiving treatment in hospitals across the country's 85 regions.

Aromatherapy spray sold by Walmart behind rare bacterial outbreak - CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday that an aromatherapy spray sold by Walmart Inc or one of its ingredients caused a bacterial infection in four people earlier this year. Walmart last week recalled about 3,900 bottles of the spray, which was manufactured in India and sold at about 55 stores and on its website between February and October, after the bacteria was identified by the public health agency.

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