Health News Roundup: Zimbabwe approves Sinovac shots for older teenagers; Russia counts cost of missteps, vaccine refusals as COVID tide keeps rising and more

Millions of doses specifically formulated for children of that age group will start arriving at distribution centers over the next few days, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said, and the federal government has purchased enough supply for all eligible 28 million children. Heart attack patients with COVID-19 have lower survival rate; Israeli data supports use of Pfizer booster The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Zimbabwe approves Sinovac shots for older teenagers

Zimbabwe's health ministry has approved the use of China's Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds, it said on Monday, adding that the country aimed to achieve herd immunity by the end of December. The ministry said in a statement that it had taken the decision after a recommendation from specialist paediatricians and was still considering whether to vaccinate younger children.

U.S. vaccines for children plan fully operational next week, White House says

The United States is rolling out Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 this week, but most of the 15 million shots being shipped initially are unlikely to be available before next week, the White House said on Monday. Millions of doses specifically formulated for children of that age group will start arriving at distribution centers over the next few days, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said, and the federal government has purchased enough supply for all eligible 28 million children.

Heart attack patients with COVID-19 have lower survival rate; Israeli data supports use of Pfizer booster

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. Heart attack patients with COVID-19 have lower survival rate

U.S. administers about 423 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 423,005,384 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Monday morning and distributed 518,561,375 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The figures were up from the 422,070,099 vaccine doses, the CDC said had gone into arms by Oct. 31.

Novavax COVID-19 vaccine gets first authorization; expects more within weeks, CEO says

Novavax Inc expects regulators in India, the Philippines and elsewhere to make a decision on its COVID-19 vaccine within "weeks," its chief executive told Reuters, after the shot on Monday received its first emergency use authorization (EUA) from Indonesia. Novavax shares were up about 13% after the company also said it had filed an application for emergency use of the vaccine to Canada and the European Medicines Agency.

J&J, Costco settle lawsuits over recalled sunscreen

Johnson & Johnson and Costco Wholesale Corp have reached a tentative agreement to settle lawsuits over the presence of a cancer-causing substance in several recalled J&J sunscreen products. Lawyers for the companies and for plaintiffs suing over the Neutrogena and Aveeno-branded aerosol sunscreen products disclosed the settlement in a court filing in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida federal court on Friday, without revealing its terms.

Rite Aid to make online vaccine registration portal accessible to people with disabilities

Rite Aid Corp and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a deal to make the drugstore chain's online COVID-19 vaccine registration portal accessible to people with disabilities, the DOJ said on Monday.

Russia counts cost of missteps, vaccine refusals as COVID tide keeps rising

Ambulance attendant Roman Stebakov has come face-to-face with COVID-19 many times - but he'd rather take his chances with the disease than get himself injected with Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. "I won't get vaccinated until, I don't know, they break me and vaccinate me by force. I don't see the point in it, there are no guarantees it's safe," says the paramedic from Oryol, 300 km (185 miles) south of Moscow.

Factbox - Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared his coronavirus vaccination order for emergency responders a success, with no disruption to city services, despite a sickout by some firefighters who officials said were protesting the mandate. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

U.S. Supreme Court leans toward allowing challenge to Texas abortion law

Two months after letting a near-total ban on abortion in Texas take effect, conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday signaled they are reconsidering their positions and could let abortion providers pursue a bid to invalidate the law. The court on Sept. 1 declined to halt the law https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/texas-six-week-abortion-ban-takes-effect-2021-09-01 in a 5-4 decision with all but one of its six conservative justices in the majority. During three hours of oral arguments on Monday, at least two of the justices who had allowed the law to be enforced - Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett - appeared to lean toward permitting abortion providers to proceed with their legal challenge.