Health News Roundup: Serum Institute to produce Ebola vaccine for use in Uganda outbreak; Moderna signs deal on variant-adapted COVID shots for world's poorest and more

Instead, Moderna will supply up to 100 million doses of its new, variant-adapted vaccines at its lowest available price from 2023. U.S. health regulator extends review of Biogen's ALS drug The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended the review of Biogen Inc's experimental treatment for an inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by three months, the company said on Monday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Serum Institute to produce Ebola vaccine for use in Uganda outbreak

The Serum Institute of India plans to manufacture 20,000 to 30,000 doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine by the end of November for use in trials against an outbreak in Uganda, its developers and a company source said. The response to Uganda's outbreak has been blunted by the absence of a proven vaccine against the Sudan strain of the virus.

Moderna signs deal on variant-adapted COVID shots for world's poorest

Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) has agreed to provide its new variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine to the global scheme aiming to deliver shots to the world's poorest people. The biotech company and vaccine alliance GAVI will cancel their existing supply deal for vaccines based on the original coronavirus strain. Instead, Moderna will supply up to 100 million doses of its new, variant-adapted vaccines at its lowest available price from 2023.

U.S. health regulator extends review of Biogen's ALS drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended the review of Biogen Inc's experimental treatment for an inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by three months, the company said on Monday. Biogen said it had submitted responses to the FDA's information requests, which the agency said would require additional time for review and set a new target action date of April 25, 2023.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledge $1.2 billion to eradicate polio

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said on Sunday that it will commit $1.2 billion to support efforts to end all forms of polio globally. Polio is a highly infectious disease spread mainly through contamination by faecal matter, used to kill and paralyze thousands of children annually. While there is no known cure, three injections of the vaccine provide nearly 100% immunity.

Trump administration blocked CDC transit mask mandate, report shows

Former President Donald Trump's administration at a crucial time in the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 blocked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from adopting a federal mandate requiring face masks on airline flights and other forms of transit, a congressional report released on Monday said. Marty Cetron, a senior CDC official, is cited in the report as saying the federal public health agency began working on the proposed order in July 2020 after its experts determined that there was scientific evidence to support requiring masks in public and commercial transportation.

China reports 921 new COVID cases for Oct 16 vs 1,026 a day earlier

China reported 921 new COVID-19 infections on Oct. 16, of which 245 were symptomatic and 676 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Monday. That is compared with 1,026 new cases a day earlier – 244 symptomatic and 782 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.

Lower-cost U.S. hearing aids go on sale Monday

Major U.S. retailers will begin selling lower-cost hearing aids without a prescription or medical exam under final Biden administration rules that take effect Monday. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids, allowing millions of Americans to buy hearing aids without seeing an audiologist and potentially saving individuals thousands of dollars.

With no monkeypox vaccine at home, frustrated Mexicans go abroad

As monkeypox continues to impact gay and bisexual men in dozens of countries around the world, at-risk Mexicans are going abroad for vaccines they say their government has not bothered to make available at home. Mexico ranks ninth globally in total cases, according to the World Health Organization, but officials have not announced plans to acquire vaccines even as other Latin American countries receive shipments.

Hair-straightening products linked with uterine cancer risk -study

Hair-straightening products may significantly increase the risk of developing uterine cancer among those who use them frequently, a large study published on Monday suggests. "We estimated that 1.64% of women who never used hair straighteners would go on to develop uterine cancer by the age of 70, but for frequent users, that risk goes up to 4.05%," study leader Alexandra White of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Safety (NIEHS) said in a statement.

Planned Parenthood asks North Carolina court to let more health workers provide abortions

North Carolina abortion providers on Monday asked a state court to allow health professionals other than physicians to provide medication abortions, as clinics struggle to accommodate an influx of abortion patients from across the U.S. South. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective filed a motion seeking temporary relief from a state law that bans "advanced practice clinicians," including nurse practitioners and physician assistants, from providing abortions.