Health News Roundup: Dozens of COVID-19 cases on flight from South Africa, Dutch authorities say; U.S. imposes travel ban from eight African countries over Omicron variant and more

The vaccine developer said it had started developing a spike protein specifically based on the known genetic sequence of the variant, B.1.1.529. Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus The discovery of a new coronavirus variant named Omicron triggered global alarm on Friday as countries rushed to suspend travel from southern Africa and stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic suffered their biggest falls in more than a year.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Dozens of COVID-19 cases on flight from South Africa, Dutch authorities say

Dutch health authorities said that dozens of people who arrived in Amsterdam on two flights from South Africa on Friday are likely infected with COVID-19, and they are conducting further testing to see if people are infected with the recently discovered Omicron coronavirus variant. Around 600 passengers arrived at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on the two KLM flights on Friday and then faced hours of delays and testing due to concerns over the new virus variant. On the basis of initial testing, the Dutch health ministry estimated there maybe around 85 positive cases among the passengers.

U.S. imposes travel ban from eight African countries over Omicron variant

The United States will bar entry to most travelers from eight southern African countries starting on Monday, after a potentially more-contagious new coronavirus variant was identified in South Africa, President Joe Biden said on Friday. The new variant, dubbed Omicron, poses a new challenge for Biden, who has had a mixed success getting Americans vaccinated after a politically motivated pushback https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ten-states-sue-biden-administration-over-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-us-health-2021-11-11 by 10 states. Biden also faces criticism from international health experts and foreign leaders for failing to send vaccines to poorer countries.

Belgium detects first case of new COVID variant in Europe

Belgium detected Europe's first confirmed case of the new variant of COVID-19 on Friday, and at the same time announced measures aimed at curbing a rapidly spreading fourth wave of coronavirus infections. Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke told a news conference that a case of variant B.1.1.529 had been found in an unvaccinated person who had developed symptoms and tested positive on Nov. 22.

CDC says no cases of Omicron identified in U.S. so far

No cases of new COVID-19 variant detected in South Africa have been identified in the United States to date, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the B.1.1.529 variant, dubbed Omicron, as being "of concern," the fifth variant to be classified as such.

New COVID variant Omicron triggers global alarm, market sell-off

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant named Omicron triggered global alarm on Friday as countries rushed to suspend travel from southern Africa and stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic suffered their biggest falls in more than a year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Omicron may spread more quickly than other forms, and preliminary evidence suggested there is an increased risk of reinfection.

Novavax developing vaccine that targets new COVID-19 variant

Novavax Inc said on Friday it had started working on a version of its COVID-19 vaccine to target the variant detected in South Africa and would have the shot ready for testing and manufacturing in the next few weeks. The company's COVID-19 shot contains an actual version of the virus' spike protein that cannot cause disease but can trigger the immune system. The vaccine developer said it had started developing a spike protein specifically based on the known genetic sequence of the variant, B.1.1.529.

Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant named Omicron triggered global alarm on Friday as countries rushed to suspend travel from southern Africa and stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic suffered their biggest falls in more than a year. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

U.S. President Biden says not considering new vaccine mandates

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday his administration was not considering new vaccine mandates following the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant in South Africa, which led to travel bans from that country and seven other nations. "We don't know a lot about the variant except that is of great concern," Biden told reporters. "I decided that we are going to be cautious."

Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna expect data on shot's protection against new COVID-19 variant soon

BioNTech SE said on Friday it expects more data on a worrying new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa within two weeks to help determine whether its vaccine produced with partner Pfizer Inc would have to be reworked. Pfizer and BioNTech said that if necessary they expect to be able to ship a new vaccine tailored to the emerging variant in approximately 100 days.

AstraZeneca examining impact of new COVID variant on vaccine, antibody cocktail

AstraZeneca said on Friday it was examining the impact of a new coronavirus variant that is spreading rapidly in South Africa on its vaccine and its antibody cocktail, adding it was hopeful its combination drug would retain efficacy. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday designated a new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, detected in South Africa with a large number of mutations, as being "of concern".

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