Health News Roundup: Britain sending millions more COVID doses to developing nations; U.S. gives 1.5 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Moderna says FDA needs more time to complete review of its COVID-19 shot for adolescents Moderna Inc said on Sunday it has been told that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will require additional time to complete its assessment of the company's COVID-19 vaccine for use in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Moderna says FDA needs more time to complete review of its COVID-19 shot for adolescents

Moderna Inc said on Sunday it has been told that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will require additional time to complete its assessment of the company's COVID-19 vaccine for use in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. The FDA informed Moderna that the review may not be completed before January 2022, the company said in a statement, dealing a potential setback to the timing of an emergency use authorization (EUA) for that age group.

Britain sending millions more COVID doses to developing nations

Britain will send 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to developing countries by the end of this year, in what Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell other world leaders is a much needed step to speed up the post-pandemic economic recovery. Leaders of the world's 20 richest countries are gathering in Rome at a meeting which Johnson hopes will make progress on producing firm commitments to cut emissions before climate talks in Glasgow at the United Nations COP26 summit.

Australia set for international border reopening for vaccinated public

Quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to Australia will resume from Monday, Australia's tourism minister said on Sunday, as the country readies itself for a partial reopening of its international borders for the first time since March 2020. Vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents living in New South Wales, Victoria and the capital Canberra will be free to fly internationally from Monday without the need of an exemption or to quarantine upon return.

U.S. gives 1.5 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan

The United States is delivering an additional 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan, a senior U.S. administration official told Reuters, increasing to 4 million the total number of shots donated by Washington to the self-ruled island, which is under increasing pressure from China. The new delivery of Moderna Inc doses will depart from Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday aboard a flight belonging to Taiwan's China Airlines, the official said.

J&J settles most Risperdal lawsuits, with $800 million in expenses

Johnson & Johnson said it has settled most of the lawsuits it faced by thousands of men who claimed its anti-psychotic drug Risperdal caused them to develop excessive breast tissue and disclosed that it recorded $800 million in expenses in connection with the agreement. J&J said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday that it reached a settlement in principle in September to resolve "substantially all" of the roughly 9,000 cases that the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based drugmaker faced over Risperdal.

U.S. FDA authorizes first COVID-19 shot for young kids

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years, making it the first COVID-19 shot for young children in the United States. The shot will not be immediately available to the age group. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to advise on how the shot should be administered, which will be decided after a group of outside advisers discuss the plan on Tuesday.

Britain's COVID-19 cases down 13.5% over past week

Britain has reported 38,009 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed on Sunday, meaning cases reported between Oct. 25 and Oct. 31 were down by 13.5% compared with the previous seven days. A further 74 people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19, meaning the seven-day total was up by almost 16% from the previous week.

France's daily COVID-19 infections top 7,000 for first time since mid-Sept

French health authorities reported 7,360 daily new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, the first time the tally has topped 7,000 since Sept 21. In another sign the virus is ramping up again, the seven-day moving average of daily new cases reached a more than one month high of 5,669.

U.S. administers over 420 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 420,657,683 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 518,701,225 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 419,020,753 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Oct. 29 out of 514,925,015 doses delivered.

Analysis-Texas abortion law critics warn conservatives of unintended consequences

As abortion providers backed by President Joe Biden's administration prepare for Monday's U.S. Supreme Court arguments in their challenge to a near-total ban on the procedure in Texas, they have found an unlikely ally: a right-leaning gun rights group. A "friend of the court" brief filed in the case by the Firearms Policy Coalition against Republican-governed Texas illustrates how the law's unique structure - enforcement by private individuals, not the state - has alarmed advocates for all kinds of constitutionally protected rights.

(With inputs from agencies.)