Health News Roundup: Spain’s SEAT asks unvaccinated workers to eat separately in Barcelona canteen; Canada approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children, shipments to start immediately and more

The move, which involves having a separate section for workers who have not had a COVID-19 vaccine, has been in place for the past month, a SEAT spokesperson told Reuters. Breakthrough infections raise health, death risk; vaccine passports without testing allow cases to be missed The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Spain’s SEAT asks unvaccinated workers to eat separately in Barcelona canteen

Volkswagen's Spanish car maker SEAT has recommended unvaccinated and vaccinated employees sit separately in its canteen at its plant outside Barcelona to protect workers and ensure operational activity, the company said on Friday. The move, which involves having a separate section for workers who have not had a COVID-19 vaccine, has been in place for the past month, a SEAT spokesperson told Reuters.

Breakthrough infections raise health, death risk; vaccine passports without testing allow cases to be missed

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 has yet to be certified by peer review. Breakthrough COVID-19 raises risk of health problems, death

Facing new COVID wave, Dutch delay care for cancer, heart patients

Dutch healthcare officials said on Friday they have begun delaying operations for some cancer and heart patients to free up space in intensive care units during a record wave of COVID-19 infections. "These are cancer patients that should actually be operated on within six weeks of diagnosis, and that won't be met in all cases. It's also heart patients," said a spokesperson for LCPS, the national organisation that allocates hospital resources.

Canada approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children, shipments to start immediately

Canada on Friday authorized the use of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, paving the way for the inoculation of elementary school-age children across the country. Medical officials said the approval was timely, given that incidences of COVID-19 in Canada are now highest among those in the 5-to-11 bracket.

EU recommends Merck COVID-19 pill for adults at risk of severe illness

The European Union's drug regulator on Friday advised that an experimental COVID-19 pill from Merck should be given within five days of first symptoms to treat adults who do not need oxygen support and are at risk of their disease worsening.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said the pill, developed along with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, should be taken twice a day for five days, but advised against use during pregnancy for in women who plan to get pregnant.

Stellantis to require 14,000 U.S. workers to be fully vaccinated

Stellantis NV will require all of its 14,000 U.S. salaried non-represented employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 5, the automaker said on Friday, as it prepares for a phased reopening of its U.S. offices next year. Nearly 80% of its salaried U.S. workforce self-reported that they are fully vaccinated, the company said.

BioMarin drug becomes first U.S. approved therapy for dwarfism

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc's once-daily injection for children with the most common type of dwarfism received clearance from the U.S. health regulator on Friday, making it the first approved therapy for achondroplasia in the country.

The approval for Voxzogo, intended for children aged five and older, comes months after it became the first therapy to be greenlighted by regulators for the treatment of the genetic condition in Europe.

BioNTech's skin cancer therapy wins FDA's fast track designation

Germany's BioNTech on Friday was awarded fast track designation by U.S. drugs regulators for the speedy review of a novel skin cancer therapy, which is based on RNA technology similar to the one that underpins its COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the fast track status to the BNT111 infusion, which is designed to instruct the body to produce four proteins that are characteristic of melanoma cells and trigger an immune response against those cancer cells in the body.

EU urges Bulgaria to speed up coronavirus vaccinations

Bulgaria needs to speed up vaccinations against the coronavirus to limit the health risks for its people and for other countries, the EU internal market commissioner in charge of vaccine strategy roll-out, Thierry Breton, said on Friday. Bulgaria is the 27-member bloc's least vaccinated nation, where less than 30% of its adult population have taken at least one shot against the virus, and the country has the highest COVID-19 related death rates in the bloc.

U.S. expands COVID-19 booster eligibility to all adults

U.S. regulators expanded eligibility for booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines to all adults on Friday, allowing millions more Americans to get additional protection against the virus amid a recent rise in infections. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, signed off on the expanded eligibility on Friday evening after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration broadened its authorization of booster doses to all adults who had received their second shot of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna Inc vaccine at least six months prior.

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