Health News Roundup: WHO says more research needed on vaccine efficacy against Omicron; U.S. buys 600,000 more doses of GSK-Vir's antibody COVID-19 treatment and more

Only one of Biogen's two pivotal trials showed Aduhelm can slow the rate of cognitive decline for Alzheimer's patients. U.S. reports 1.35 million COVID-19 cases in a day, shattering global record The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total for any country in the world as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

WHO says more research needed on vaccine efficacy against Omicron

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday more research is needed to find out if existing COVID-19 vaccines provide adequate protection against the highly contagious Omicron variant, even as manufacturers develop next generation shots. The global health agency's latest technical brief aims to answer some of the big outstanding questions about the heavily mutated variant which first emerged in November, such as on severity, transmissibility and ability to evade vaccines. It also fixes priorities for its member states.

U.S. buys 600,000 more doses of GSK-Vir's antibody COVID-19 treatment

British drugmaker GSK and U.S. partner Vir Biotechnology said on Tuesday the United States had agreed to buy 600,000 more doses of their antibody-based COVID-19 treatment, sotrovimab, for an undisclosed amount. The drugmakers said the additional doses would be supplied to the U.S. government for distribution in the first quarter of 2022.

Chinese cities tighten COVID-19 curbs as Tianjin battles Omicron outbreak

Cities across China are imposing tougher restrictions to try to control new outbreaks of COVID-19, with Tianjin battling the highly contagious Omicron variant which has been detected to have been transmitted locally in two other provinces. A Tianjin official told a Tuesday press briefing that 49 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms have been detected during the latest outbreak. The city of 14 million people, around 100km (62 miles) from Beijing, is now implementing tough controls to stop the coronavirus from spreading, especially to neighbouring Beijing.

Future of Biogen's Aduhelm hinges on U.S. Medicare Alzheimer's coverage

The future of Aduhelm, Biogen Inc's controversial and expensive Alzheimer's drug, may hinge on a decision due this week from the U.S. Medicare program on whether it will pay for the treatment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been working since July on a national coverage policy for the drug, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last June despite its questionable efficacy against the brain-wasting disease. Only one of Biogen's two pivotal trials showed Aduhelm can slow the rate of cognitive decline for Alzheimer's patients.

U.S. reports 1.35 million COVID-19 cases in a day, shattering global record

The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total for any country in the world as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing. The previous record was 1.03 million cases on Jan. 3. A large number of cases are reported each Monday due to many states not reporting over the weekend. The seven-day average for new cases has tripled in two weeks https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR to over 700,000 new infections a day.

Too soon to treat COVID-19 like flu as Omicron spreads - WHO

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is on track to infect more than half of Europeans, but it should not yet be seen as a flu-like endemic illness, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Europe saw more than 7 million newly-reported cases in the first week of 2022, more than doubling over a two-week period, WHO's Europe director Hans Kluge told a news briefing.

Hong Kong unveils further steps to curb COVID-19 spread, boost vaccinations

Hong Kong will shut kindergartens and primary schools and start offering COVID-19 vaccines for children from the age of five, the city's leader said on Tuesday, as the financial hub grapples with an increase in coronavirus infections. Certain passengers meanwhile will be banned from transiting through Hong Kong for a month, Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Omicron is Brazil's dominant coronavirus variant, minister says

Omicron has become the dominant coronavirus variant in Brazil, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said on Tuesday. "Regardless of any health measure you may try to adopt, it ends up coming in. Unfortunately, it already is the predominant variant in Brazil, we are seeing cases rising," Queiroga told reporters.

A million set to throng India's Ganges for holy dip despite COVID-19

Nearly one million Hindu worshippers are expected to gather on the banks of the Ganges river this Friday and Saturday for a holy bathe despite galloping COVID-19 infections across the country, an official told Reuters on Tuesday. India reported 168,063 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, a 20-fold rise in a month.

South African studies suggest Omicron has higher 'asymptomatic carriage'

Preliminary findings from two South African clinical trials suggest the Omicron coronavirus variant has a much higher rate of "asymptomatic carriage" than earlier variants, which could explain why it has spread so rapidly across the globe. The studies - one of which was carried out when Omicron infections were surging in South Africa last month and another which resampled participants around the same time - found a far greater number of people tested positive for the coronavirus but were not showing symptoms compared to previous trials.