Health News Roundup: France's 8th wave of COVID is gaining in intensity - health official; Supreme Court turns away challenge to U.S. vaccine rule for health workers and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

France's 8th wave of COVID is gaining in intensity - health official

France has entered an eighth wave of the COVID-19 virus, as the winter season approaches, said a leading French health official. "Yes, we are in this eighth wave," said Brigitte Autran, who is a member of the government's vaccination strategic board.

Supreme Court turns away challenge to U.S. vaccine rule for health workers

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge by Missouri and nine other states - mostly Republican-led - to President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for workers in healthcare facilities that receive federal funds. The justices turned away an appeal by the states after a lower court declined to immediately consider their claims that the vaccine rule violates federal administrative law and tramples overpowers reserved for the states under the U.S. Constitution. The Democratic president's administration issued the rule in November 2021.

Biden to set new U.S. guidelines on reproductive rights, 100 days after Roe v Wade

U.S. President Joe Biden will announce new guidelines and grants to protect reproductive rights on Tuesday, and describe how abortion rights have been curtailed since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to terminate pregnancies. He will be speaking at a meeting of the reproductive rights task force, also to be attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, that is being held 100 days after the landmark Roe v. Wade judgment.

Vir Biotech gets U.S. funding for flu-prevention antibody

Vir Biotechnology Inc said on Tuesday it had received $55 million in funding from the U.S. government to support its influenza-focused antibody drug that is expected to enter mid-stage trials this year. The multi-year contract with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) also allows for potential investment of up to $1 billion by the government for developing candidates against emerging infectious disease, including influenza.

Swedish geneticist wins Nobel medicine prize for decoding ancient DNA

Swedish geneticist Svante Paabo won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for discoveries that underpin our understanding of how modern-day people evolved from extinct ancestors at the dawn of human history. Paabo's work demonstrated practical implications during the COVID-19 pandemic when he found that people infected with the virus who carry a gene variant inherited from Neanderthals are more at risk of severe illness than those who do not.

U.S. Supreme Court turns away Biogen bid to reinstate MS drug patent

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Biogen Inc's bid to win reinstatement of a patent on the company's blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera in a dispute with Viatris Inc subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. The justices turned away Biogen's appeal of a lower court's decision to invalidate the patent in a ruling that helped clear the way for Mylan's generic version of Tecfidera.

Dutch to cull around 102,000 chickens to contain bird flu

The Netherlands is to cull around 102,000 chickens on a farm in the northern city of Kiel-Windeweer after the detection of a highly infectious strain of bird flu, the government said on Tuesday. Fifteen cases of the highly lethal form of avian flu have been reported in the Netherlands in the past month, following dozens of cases earlier in the year.

KalVista shares sink after ending drug trial for hereditary disease

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday it has ended a mid-stage study for its drug to prevent recurrent swelling attacks in people with hereditary angioedema due to safety concerns, sending its shares down more than 40%. The drug developer cited increased levels of liver enzymes in some patients, which could lead to liver damage if kept unchecked, for the termination.

WHO to request cholera vaccines for Haiti, expects the further spread

A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday it was setting up tents to treat cholera in Haiti and would also request the supply of oral vaccines against the disease, which has unexpectedly returned to a country paralyzed by a gang blockade. The disease killed some 10,000 people through a 2010 outbreak that has been blamed on a United Nations peacekeeping force that was stationed in Haiti. The UN in 2016 apologized for the outbreak in, without taking responsibility. The last case was reported three years ago.

UK COVID inquiry begins, vowing to expose any culpable conduct

A public inquiry into Britain's response to and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic got underway on Tuesday, with a promise it would get to the truth, and expose any wrongdoing or culpable conduct. Britain has recorded almost 20 million COVID infections and more than 166,000 deaths - the seventh highest fatality total globally - and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his ministers have faced criticism for their handling of the crisis.

(With inputs from agencies.)