Health News Roundup: U.S. FDA working to allow overseas infant formula beyond shortage; World hunger rising as U.N. agencies warn of "looming catastrophe" and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Juul ban put on hold as FDA starts additional review

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has put on hold its ban on sales of Juul Labs Inc's e-cigarettes, with the health agency saying late on Tuesday that it would do an additional review of the company's marketing application. Juul had won a temporary reprieve a couple of weeks ago after a U.S. federal appeals court stayed the FDA's ban following an appeal from the company for an emergency review of the regulator's order.

U.S. FDA working to allow overseas infant formula beyond shortage

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking at ways to allow overseas manufacturers of baby formula to keep selling in the country beyond the current shortage, the health regulator said on Wednesday. The FDA in May said it would allow baby formula imports until Nov. 14 to ease a shortage that had left parents scrambling to feed their babies.

World hunger rising as U.N. agencies warn of "looming catastrophe"

World hunger levels rose again last year after soaring in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Ukraine war and climate change threatening starvation and mass migration on an "unprecedented scale" this year, according to U.N. agencies. Up to 828 million people, or nearly 10% of the world's population, were affected by hunger last year, 46 million more than in 2020 and 150 million more than in 2019, agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Programme and World Health Organisation said in the 2022 edition of the U.N. food security and nutrition report.

U.S. Senate Democrats advance deal to lower drug prices

Democrats in the U.S. Senate are advancing a deal that would allow the government's Medicare health plan for older and disabled Americans to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, Senate sources said on Wednesday. The plan, which could potentially lower government health costs by billions of dollars, has long been a goal of President Joe Biden's Democrats and is popular with voters.

U.S. FDA allows pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer's COVID-19 pill

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday it authorized state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 pill Paxlovid to eligible patients, in a bid to improve access to the treatment. Use of the pill, authorized to treat newly infected, at-risk people to prevent severe illness, has jumped in recent weeks as infections rise.

Israel allows COVID vaccine for children under five

The Israeli Health Ministry on Wednesday gave the green light for the vaccination of children between the ages of 6 months to five years against COVID-19. The Health Ministry said the vaccine was particularly recommended for those who were at high risk due to a chronic illness or medical treatment that weaken their immune system.

BioNTech looking into taking legal steps against CureVac

BioNTech is looking into taking legal steps against CureVac after the latter filed a patent lawsuit against it over its use of mRNA technology, BioNTech said on Wednesday, confirming a report by daily Welt. "We are looking at all legal options," said a BioNTech spokesperson.

Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

China's capital on Wednesday mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for most people to enter crowded venues such as libraries, cinemas and gyms, the first such move by Beijing which it coupled with a slight easing of domestic travel curbs. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

Uterus transplants allow successful pregnancies in U.S. women-study

More than half of U.S. women who received a uterus through a transplant went on to have successful pregnancies, a new study shows. Between 2016 and 2021, 33 women received uterus transplants in the United States and so far 19 of them, or 58%, have delivered a total of 21 babies, researchers reported on Wednesday in JAMA Surgery.

WHO: More than 6,000 monkeypox cases reported, emergency meeting set

More than 6,000 cases of monkeypox have now been reported from 58 countries in the current outbreak, the World Health Organization said. The U.N. agency will reconvene a meeting of the committee that will advise on declaring the outbreak a global health emergency, the WHO's highest level of alert, in the week beginning July 18 or sooner, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference from Geneva.

(With inputs from agencies.)