Health News Roundup: Few U.S. patients with hepatitis C get timely treatment, CDC says; UK faces danger of running out of monkeypox vaccine by this month - FT and more

Mainland China reported 828 new domestically transmitted cases across more than a dozen provinces and regions for Aug. 8, with over half of them in Hainan, a highly popular tourist destination, official data showed on Tuesday. FDA says found possible carcinogen in certain samples of Merck's Januvia The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday certain samples of sitagliptin, a compound in Merck's diabetes drug Januvia, were contaminated with a possible carcinogen.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Few U.S. patients with hepatitis C get timely treatment, CDC says

Few U.S. adults diagnosed with hepatitis C virus infections receive timely treatment with antiviral drugs, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.

The drugs cure hepatitis C in more than 95% of patients, but a study of more than 47,000 adults diagnosed in 2019 or 2020 found that only one-third of those with private insurance and one-quarter of Medicaid and Medicare recipients got one of these drugs within a year, according to a report in the CDC's Vital Signs.

UK faces danger of running out of monkeypox vaccine by this month - FT

Britain will run out of monkeypox vaccines in about two to three weeks as the country has little more than 8,300 doses of vaccine left, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Shipments of a new order of 100,000 doses will not resume until late September, the report added citing an internal National Health Service letter https://on.ft.com/3P6naBv.

U.S. to buy Siga's IV drug worth $26 million to fight monkeypox outbreak

The U.S. government will buy Siga Technologies Inc's $26-million worth of intravenous formulation of antiviral drug Tpoxx, the company said on Tuesday, as the country fights an outbreak of monkeypox cases. The company plans to deliver by next year the order for the IV treatment, which would be a vital option for patients unable to swallow the oral pill as monkeypox symptoms include rashes and blisters in the mouth.

Over 4,000 beagles destined for drug experiments finding new homes

About 4,000 beagles are looking for homes after animal rescue organizations started removing them from a Virginia facility that bred them to be sold to laboratories for drug experiments. "It's going to take 60 days to get all of these animals out, and working with our shelter and rescue partners across the country, working with them to get these dogs into eventually into ever-loving home," said Kitty Block, president and chief executive of the U.S. Humane Society.

Novavax tumbles 30% as waning COVID-19 vaccine demand hits outlook

Shares of U.S. vaccine maker Novavax fell about 30% on Tuesday after it cut its annual revenue forecast by half over falling demand for its COVID-19 shot from low- and middle-income nations. Demand for its vaccine is also waning in the United States, where it was authorized for use among adults last month and was expected to be preferred by the skeptics of messenger RNA-based shots from Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc.

China races to contain COVID outbreaks in tourism hubs Tibet, Hainan

China raced on Tuesday to stamp out COVID-19 outbreaks in the tourist hubs of Tibet and Hainan, with the authorities launching more rounds of mass testing and closing venues to contain the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Mainland China reported 828 new domestically transmitted cases across more than a dozen provinces and regions for Aug. 8, with over half of them in Hainan, a highly popular tourist destination, official data showed on Tuesday.

FDA says found possible carcinogen in certain samples of Merck's Januvia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday certain samples of sitagliptin, a compound in Merck's diabetes drug Januvia, were contaminated with a possible carcinogen. The agency said it would not object to the temporary distribution of sitagliptin containing the impurity above the acceptable intake limit to avoid a shortage.

A2 Milk's hopes to sell baby food in U.S. curdled, shares plunge

A2 Milk Company Ltd said on Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deferred its request to sell infant milk formula products in the United States, sending its shares down more than 12%. The dairy producer and rival Fonterra have been advised by U.S.-based trade group International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) that the FDA has sent similar letters to all firms seeking approvals to sell infant milk formula in the United States.

U.S. allows alternate monkeypox vaccine injection method to boost supply

U.S. health regulators have authorized injecting a monkeypox vaccine intradermally in adults, meaning between layers of the skin rather than below the skin, in an effort to stretch out low vaccine supplies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday. The emergency use authorization for Bavarian Nordic's Jynneos monkeypox vaccine will increase available doses fivefold as it only uses a fraction of the dose but provides the same protection, health officials said at a White House briefing.

Former asthma sufferer Biden has cough, but not COVID, White House says

U.S. President Joe Biden continues to test negative for COVID-19 but is suffering its lingering effects, the White House press office said on Tuesday, after he coughed repeatedly through a speech on the South Lawn. Biden spoke to dozens of Congress members, including Republicans, as well as business executives and members of his Cabinet, in sweltering midday heat before signing the a $53 billion bill aimed at boosting the U.S. semiconductor industry.

(With inputs from agencies.)